SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Access to Information

Lynne Jones: To ask the Solicitor-General what measures she has taken to improve access to information in her Department by those outside her Department.

Harriet Harman: In the interest of accountability, the Attorney-General is determined that the Departments for which he is responsible should take steps to extend access to official information, the assumption being that such information should be released except where disclosure would not be in the public interest.
	The Law Officers' Departments—the Crown Prosecution Service, the Serious Fraud Office and the Treasury Solicitor's Department—all continue to increase access to information through various avenues.
	CPS publicity materials now include more extensive information about CPS policies and the prosecution process. A key recent example is the publication of a booklet providing the background to prosecution policy on domestic violence cases.
	The potential for releasing information via the internet will be explored to the full. The website maintained on behalf of the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers is currently being reviewed and 2002 will see a new, improved, CPS website. The SFO website has recently been substantially expanded and the Treasury Solicitor has also improved access to information through two dedicated websites.

Antisocial Behaviour

Caroline Flint: To ask the Solicitor-General what efforts are being made to ensure that the Crown Prosecution Service works effectively with the police and local authorities to secure successful prosecutions in antisocial behaviour cases.

Harriet Harman: The CPS work with the police and local authorities through the local partnerships set up under the Crime and Disorder Act.
	In February 2000 all key agencies launched the antisocial behaviour protocol and there have been joint training seminars and joint guidance.
	Between April 1999 and September 2000:
	466 Antisocial Behaviour Orders were made by Magistrates Courts.
	53 defendants were prosecuted for breach of such Orders.
	47 were convicted.
	An application by the police or local authority for an ASBO is a civil matter and not for the CPS. The CPS are involved when an ASBO is breached as this is a criminal offence.

Serious Fraud

Dave Watts: To ask the Solicitor-General what criteria are applied in deciding whether to prosecute serious fraud.

Harriet Harman: Criteria for consideration of prosecuting serious fraud are the same as for all criminal cases: (i) is there enough evidence and (ii) is it in the public interest.
	Offences involving serious or complex fraud are prosecuted by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). In deciding whether the SFO rather than CPS should accept a case for investigation, the factors taken into account include:
	1. The sum at risk is estimated to be at least £1 million (this is simply an objective and recognisable signpost of seriousness and likely public concern rather than the main indicator of suitability).
	2. The case is likely to give rise to national publicity and widespread public concern. These include those involving Government Departments, public bodies, the Governments of other countries and commercial cases of public interest.
	3. The case has a significant international dimension.
	4. There is a need for legal, accountancy and investigative skills to be brought together as a combined operation.
	5. The suspected fraud appears to be complex and one in which the use of section 2 powers might be appropriate.

Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Bill

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Solicitor-General with which organisations she has had discussions on the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Bill relating to the prevention of terrorism.

Harriet Harman: Policy responsibility for the Act, including for consultation, lies with the Home Secretary. Any discussions that I, or the Attorney- General, have had about aspects of the Bill were therefore conducted in the context of our role as Law Officers, such as in discussion with the Crown Prosecution Service regarding some of the prosecution/criminal law aspects. Quite separately from this, the Attorney-General provided assistance to the Home Secretary in taking parts of the Bill through the House of Lords.

Crown Prosecution Service

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will make a statement about the performance of the Crown Prosecution Service.

Harriet Harman: During the period April– September 2001 the Crown Prosecution Service secured convictions in respect of 98 per cent. of defendants whose case proceeded to a hearing in magistrates courts and almost 89 per cent. of defendants whose case proceeded to a hearing in the Crown court. During the same six-month period, the service had already met its 2001–02 targets for the timeliness of committal papers and of briefs to counsel, and for reduction in non-injury acquittals attributable to failings in the prosecution. In addition, the service made a vital contribution towards halving the time taken to deal with persistent young offenders, from an average of 142 days in 1996 to 70 days in the quarter ending September 2001.
	While these figures show that the Crown Prosecution Service is continuing to work to a high standard, its priorities for 2002–03 are more demanding still, including: delivering more effective prosecutions; developing a greater public service ethos; developing its own professional role; building partnerships to drive up the performance of the criminal justice system as a whole; and developing a modern, diverse organisation which staff take pride in.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Teaching Vacancies

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent meetings she has had with the National Union of Teachers to discuss the number of vacancies in secondary schools.

Stephen Timms: My right hon. Friend meets representatives of the NUT along with other unions from time to time to discuss a wide range of issues.

Teaching Vacancies

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent meetings she has had with the Association of Colleges to discuss the number of (a) teachers and (b) lecturers in further education.

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent meetings she has had with the Association of Colleges to discuss the numbers of (a) teachers and (b) lecturers in further education.

Margaret Hodge: The Secretary of State met David Gibson from the Association of Colleges (AoC) on 14 November 2001 and also addressed the AoC Conference on 20 November. Additionally, my colleague John Healey and I have each met twice with representatives from the AoC on 12 July and 10 October and 15 June and 31 July, respectively.
	Discussions with AoC representatives are wide reaching, including recruitment and retention difficulties for lecturers in some subject areas and initiatives such as the Teaching Pay Initiative, Golden Hellos, Student Loan Write Off and Training Bursaries, which the Government have introduced to attract new staff to the profession and reward and retain excellent teachers and lecturers.

Teaching Vacancies (Hertfordshire)

Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many vacancies there are for teacher posts in maintained schools in Hertfordshire.

Stephen Timms: Information on the number of teacher vacancies in local education authorities is collected once a year in January as part of the annual census of teachers and vacancies. In January 2001, the vacancy rate for Hertfordshire LEA was 0.6 per cent. compared with 1.4 per cent. nationally.

Further Education Funding

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when she intends to achieve equal funding for students at sixth form colleges and in school sixth forms.

Margaret Hodge: The Government are firmly committed to bringing up the level of funding for colleges towards that of school sixth forms. As we have repeatedly made clear, this will take time and must be done as resources allow.

Further Education Funding

Michael Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to increase funding to further education colleges; and if she will make a statement.

John Healey: £527 million extra funding is available for further education colleges this year compared with 2000–01. This is a 12 per cent. real terms increase and there will be a further 3 per cent. real terms increase in 2002–03. The increase in funding is designed to support widening participation in learning, higher standards of teaching and learning leading to improved success rates, the introduction of centres of vocational excellence, a step change in capital investment in the sector and the modernisation of pay arrangements in further education.

Education Funding (Swindon)

Julia Drown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she is taking to increase education funding in Swindon.

Stephen Timms: Swindon's Education Standard Spending Assessment will be increased by 4.65 per cent. next year, and the sums available through the Standards Fund and in direct grant to schools will also increase.

University Research Funding

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has for the distribution of university research funding.

Margaret Hodge: The Government's policy is selectively to support high quality research in universities and colleges. The detailed distribution of public funds for research is a matter for the research councils, the Higher Education Funding Council for England and the other UK funding councils.

Nursery Provision

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement about nursery provision.

Margaret Hodge: Since September 1998, all four- year-olds have been able to access a free early education place.
	We have increased the percentage of three-year-olds able to access free places from 34 per cent. in 1997 to 62 per cent. in 2001. From September 2004 all three-year-olds will have access to a free early education place.
	The funding available for early education will be increased from £1 billion in 1996–97 to £2 billion in 2003–04.

Nursery Provision

Helen Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of children aged between three and five years are in full-time nursery education.

Margaret Hodge: My Department estimates that eight per cent. of three and four-year-old children were in full-time nursery education 1 in England in January 2001.
	However, the vast majority of children engage in nursery education on a part-time basis. If these children are included, my Department estimates that two in three children aged three and four are in either full or part-time nursery education. Of these, 32 per cent. of the population attended private and voluntary providers, four per cent. attended independent schools, 30 per cent. attended maintained nursery schools or nursery classes within maintained primary schools and less than 0.5 per cent, special schools.
	We are committed to guaranteeing free part-time places for all four-year-olds whose parents want one and by September 2004 free part-time places for all three- year-olds.
	Children in nursery education comprise those educated in schools and private and voluntary early years settings, but does not include children educated in infant classes in maintained primary schools.

Pupils Without Qualifications

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the proportion of pupils reaching the end of compulsory schooling without qualifications.

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the proportion of pupils reaching the end of compulsory schooling without qualifications.

Lawrie Quinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the proportion of pupils reaching the end of compulsory schooling without any qualifications.

Stephen Timms: In 2001 the proportion of pupils reaching the end of compulsory schooling without any qualifications fell for the sixth year in a row to 5.5 per cent. This reflects a continuing rise to 94.5 per cent. in 2000–01 in the percentage of pupils achieving one or more GCSEs at grades A*-G (or equivalent).

Teachers (Administrative Burden)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she is taking to reduce the administrative burden on teachers.

Stephen Timms: My Department is committed to making teaching a more manageable profession and keeps administrative requirements on all schools under continuous review. Following the recent PricewaterhouseCoopers study on teacher workload and its recommendations on reducing administrative burdens, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has invited teacher representatives, local authorities and other key education figures to join her on a working party to take forward work on remodelling the teaching profession.

Education Funding (Wiltshire)

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on funding for education in Wiltshire.

Stephen Timms: In 2002–03 Wiltshire's Education SSA will be £189.72 million, an increase of £11.58 million or 6.50 per cent.—above the national average. Wiltshire will also benefit from the increase in Standards Fund grant of almost £160 million; and in the direct grant for schools of at least 2.75 per cent..

University Status

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the process for awarding university status to higher education colleges.

Margaret Hodge: The criteria and processes for the award of university title to higher education colleges were revised in 1999 following full consultation with the academic community and others. I am satisfied that they are working effectively balancing, as they must, the legitimate wishes of some colleges to become universities with the need to protect the reputation of the United Kingdom university title.

Further Education

Valerie Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures she is taking to increase participation in further education among 16 to 18-year-olds.

John Healey: We are investing substantially in a wide range of policies designed to raise participation among 16 to 18-year-olds, including in further education. We have established the Learning and Skills Council to drive these forward and have put in place a number of measures which provide the support and incentives young people need to take up and succeed in learning. These include the Connexions Service, education maintenance allowances, new generation modern apprenticeships, and the new Connexions Card to be launched nationally in autumn 2002. Further education colleges will also play a central role in our plans to develop a coherent 14–19 phase of learning for young people. We will be publishing a Green Paper shortly setting out our plans in this area. Finally, with the Learning and Skills Council, we are continuing with our drive to improve standards in further education, underpinned by a rigorous, independent inspection regime.

Higher Education (Wales)

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent discussions she has had with regard to the future of higher education in Wales.

Margaret Hodge: My right hon. Friend and I have regular discussions with the Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning at the National Assembly for Wales covering a range of issues, including higher education.

Adult Learning

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what strategy her Government have to increase participation in adult learning.

Margaret Hodge: The Government's strategy is to ensure that learning is available in a form and at a time and place that best suits the needs of adult learners; to provide targeted financial support to adult learners; and to extend the information, advice and guidance available on learning. The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has a statutory duty to encourage adults to learn. It will publish its strategy for workforce development by the end of March 2002. The National Target for Participation in Learning has been achieved one year early, with 500,000 additional learners since 1997.

University Attendance

Ross Cranston: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she is taking to encourage more children from lower socio-economic backgrounds to attend university.

Margaret Hodge: We are spending over £190 million on the Excellence challenge programme, which will provide extra help and information for young people in areas with traditionally low participation to reach higher education. In addition, education maintenance allowances and our reforms to qualifications for 14 to 19-year-olds will assist young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds to stay in education and training and to reach the level to access higher education.

Individual Learning Accounts

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when she intends to lift the suspension of individual learning accounts.

John Healey: Individual Learning Accounts (ILAs) will not be reinstated in their present form. However, I can give a cast-iron guarantee that this is not the end of Government funding for adult learning, or of Government support for all those who find a lack of money a barrier to returning to education, learning or training. We are developing future plans which build on the successful elements of the ILA programme.

Individual Learning Accounts

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how the premises of training organisations dealing with ILA holders were inspected with regard to (a) the training stations available and (b) the training qualifications of staff.

John Healey: holding answer 18 December 2001
	The premises of training organisations dealing with ILA holders and the training qualifications of their staff were not inspected. However, as part of the registration process learning providers were asked to provide a copy of a valid health and safety certificate and their public liability insurance. In addition we required all learning providers to sign a learning provider agreement. A key part of the agreement asked providers to offer a clear explanation to account holders of any accreditation held (in respect of the course, the qualification or the provider), the qualification a course undertaken may lead to, and the awarding body.
	ILAs aimed to encourage more people into learning by helping tackle the financial barriers to learning. To help meet the policy objective the ILA system was designed to be simple and easy to use and non-bureaucratic.

Individual Learning Accounts

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what compensation her Department is providing to colleges in respect of losses incurred by the withdrawal of individual learning accounts.

John Healey: The Department has no plans to compensate learning providers in relation to the closure of individual learning accounts.

School Science Statistics

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the numbers of (a) girls and (b) boys taking science subjects at A and AS-level in each of the last five years.

Ivan Lewis: The number of girls and boys that took science subjects at A and AS level in each of the last five years was as follows:
	
		
			  1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 
		
		
			  A Level (legacy)   
			 Girls 53,975 55,768 55,102 54,568 51,826 
			 Boys 65,588 65,845 62,951 60,053 57,054 
			   
			  Advanced Supplementary (legacy) 
			 Girls 3,508 3,360 3,465 3,598 1,973 
			 Boys 3,799 3,939 4,011 3,748 1,989 
			   
			  Advanced Subsidiary (new)—2000–01 
			 Girls 57,780 — — — — 
			 Boys 61,917 — — — —

ICT

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress is being made to equip schools with resources in information and communications technology.

John Healey: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Workington (Tony Cunningham) on 10 January 2002, Official Report, column 657.

Parenting Orders

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many parenting orders have been sought by schools based in the Buckingham constituency.

John Denham: I have been asked to reply.
	We understand from the Youth Justice Board that between October 2000 and June 2001, 10 parenting orders were sought and granted in Buckinghamshire following convictions of adults for failing to send children to school.

Student Domicile Statistics

Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the trends in the numbers of students domiciled in (a) Scotland who attend English universities and (b) England who attend Scottish universities, in the last five years.

Margaret Hodge: In the five years to 2000–01 the number of full-time Scottish undergraduate students in England rose from 5,277 to 5,834 while numbers of full-time English undergraduates in Scotland fell from 16,336 to 14,723. However, UCAS entry figures for 2001–02 suggest these trends have changed with decline of full-time Scottish students in England of about three per cent. and an increase in full-time English students in Scotland of about five per cent.

Teacher Recruitment and Retention

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement about teacher (a) recruitment and (b) retention in London.

Stephen Timms: Information on the number of teacher vacancies in local education authorities is collected once a year in January as part of the annual census of teachers and vacancies. In January 2001, the vacancy rate for London was 3.5 per cent. compared with 1.4 per cent. nationally. We are aware of the particular problems in London and are making considerable efforts to address them. In 2001 the Government made nearly £20 million available to London LEAs through its recruitment and retention fund. This amounted to more than half the total national funding. In 2002 we will increase that funding in London to £22 million. In addition we have increased pay for all teachers above the rate of inflation for the third successive year. London allowances have been raised by 30 per cent. so that teachers in inner London now receive a starting salary of £20,000.

Threshold Allowance Awards

Patsy Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many teachers received backdated threshold pay before 1 April 2001, broken down by local authority; A
	(2)  how many teachers received backdated threshold pay after 1 April 2001; A
	(3)  what assessment she has made of the number of teachers who paid higher rates of tax as a result of their backdated pay being paid after 1 April 2001. A

Stephen Timms: The information requested has not been collected centrally and could be gathered only at disproportionate cost.

Threshold Allowance Awards

Patsy Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, pursuant to her answer of 20 November 2001, Official Report, column 259W, on what evidence she based her answer on the numbers of teachers having to pay higher rates of tax; and how this is reconciled with her answer of 30 November 2001, Official Report, column 1213W, on threshold allowance awards.

Stephen Timms: To pay higher rate tax as a result of receiving threshold back pay from 2000–0l in the current financial year a teacher would have to earn at least £32,768 this year before any threshold back pay was added. Estimates derived from the teachers' pensions scheme indicate that a substantial majority of teachers who have crossed the threshold are not paid as much as this. So even though we do not have detailed information about when they were paid, we can nevertheless say that most post-threshold teachers would not pay higher rate tax even if they received threshold back pay this year.

Faith Schools

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils attended faith schools in (a) 1995, (b) 1996, (c) 1997, (d) 1998, (e) 1999 and (f) 2000.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 29 November 2001
	The available information is shown in the following table.
	
		Number of pupils(1) in maintained primary and secondary schools in England
		
			  2000 2001 
		
		
			 Primary   
			 Number of pupils in non-religious schools 3,199,355 3,173,926 
			 Number of pupils in faith schools 1,235,991 1,232,289 
			
			 Secondary   
			 Number of pupils in non-religious schools 2,694,103 2,736,891 
			 Number of pupils in faith schools 487,710 494,936 
		
	
	(1) Headcount of pupils
	Source:
	Annual Schools' Census and Register of Educational Establishments
	No directly comparable data are available for 1995 to 1999.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Pakistan

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with President Musharraf on the situation in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: During his visit to Pakistan on 22–23 November, the Secretary of State discussed the situation in Afghanistan with President Musharraf. The Secretary of State expressed our continuing appreciation for President Musharraf's courageous decision to support the fight against terrorism and the practical assistance that Pakistan has provided. The Secretary of State also discussed the situation in Pakistan and sought President Musharraf's advice on how best to achieve our shared objective of a broad-based multi-ethnic government in Afghanistan.

Pakistan

David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what encouragement he has given to President Musharraf to return Pakistan to democracy during 2002.

Ben Bradshaw: Both my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary encouraged President Musharraf to return Pakistan to democracy during their recent visits to Pakistan. We welcome President Musharraf's public reiteration of his commitment to stick to his roadmap to democracy and hold national and provincial elections by October 2002.

Older People

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will set out for each of the conclusions in section 6.4 of the Performance and Innovation Unit report, "Winning the Generation Game", (a) what progress his Department has made and (b) what future plans his Department has for acting on them; and if he will set out against each of the conclusions the targets and deadlines that have been set.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 19 December 2001
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Cabinet Office on 19 December 2001, Official Report, column 335W.

Indonesia

David Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Indonesian Government on the protection of Christians; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: We take every opportunity, including with our EU partners, to urge states to foster tolerance and mutual respect and to protect religious minorities. In the case of Indonesia, we raised our concerns about violence in Maluku and Sulawesi most recently on 29 November when the British Chargé d'Affaires in Jakarta called on Manuel Kaisiepo, the Minister for Eastern Indonesia. I myself raised the issue with Vice-President Haz when I met him in August.
	The Department for International Development (DFID) has pledged more than £4 million to help establish the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Conflict Prevention and Recovery Unit in Jakarta. The unit will build up capacity in conflict reduction and recovery in the provinces torn apart by ethnic conflict, particularly north Maluku. The British Government have also recently funded a series of Conflict Reporting training workshops for journalists in various provinces in Indonesia, including north Maluku and Sulawesi. We will continue to work with the Indonesian authorities and UNDP to promote reconciliation, begin wider reconstruction work and to offer practical assistance where we can.

Indonesia

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the treatment of Christians in Indonesia.

Ben Bradshaw: There are a number of regional conflicts in Indonesia with a religious dimension. Their origins are complex. The UK's message to the Indonesian Government has been consistently clear: a long-term solution can be achieved only through political dialogue and consultation with the people.
	The Department for International Development has pledged more than £4 million to help establish the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Conflict Prevention and Recovery Unit in Jakarta. The Unit will build up capacity in conflict reduction and recovery in the provinces torn apart by ethnic conflict. The British Government have also recently funded a series of Conflict Reporting training workshops in various provinces in Indonesia. We will continue to work with the Indonesian authorities and UNDP to promote reconciliation and offer practical assistance where we can.
	We will continue to monitor cases of inter-communal violence closely and raise our concerns with the Indonesian Government at every appropriate opportunity. I myself raised the issue with Vice President Haz when I met him in Jakarta in August.

Middle East

David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what role the EU is playing in seeking to make progress towards peace in the middle east.

Ben Bradshaw: The EU plays an active role in efforts to secure peace in the region, in parallel with US, UN and Russian efforts. EU Foreign Ministers and High Representative Solana visit the region frequently to deliver strong messages to both parties about their responsibilities to put an end to the violence and resume negotiations. Solana began a further visit on 6 January. The EU's position is clear: the Palestinian Authority should dismantle terrorist networks; the Israeli Government should withdraw their military forces, end operations against Palestinian institutions and lift restrictions.

Vietnam

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Vietnamese Government concerning the treatment of Christians in Vietnam.

Ben Bradshaw: The Secretary of State raised general human rights issues in Vietnam when he met the Vietnamese Foreign Minister, Mr. Nien, in London in September 2001. The EU Human Rights Working Group in Hanoi, in which our embassy plays a leading role, raises the treatment of religious groups and individuals, during its regular dialogue with the Vietnamese authorities.

Overseas Assistance

Ernie Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on UK assistance to militaries and police forces overseas.

Ben Bradshaw: UK training and assistance to militaries and police forces overseas has been provided through the ASSIST (Assistance to Support Stability with In-Service Training) scheme, the ASSIST Challenge Fund and English language training programme. In total £6.8 million in FY 2000–01 supported some 220 training and assistance projects for the military, law enforcement agencies and civilian bodies in over 65 countries, with a strong emphasis on human rights and good governance. Examples include the attachment of a UK chief constable to the Indonesian police service to help it establish a new structure and code of ethics; English language training for central and eastern Europe militaries to support their international peacekeeping capabilities and NATO candidature; and a project to help UK and South Asian police forces work together on the issue of forced marriages.
	Following a review last year of the Government's conflict prevention and resolution activities, the ASSIST budgets have been subsumed into the interdepartmental Conflict Prevention Pools, which continue to fund ASSIST-type activities.
	The review of the ASSIST activities for 2000–01 gives more detail. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Nepal

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to offer military support against terrorism in Nepal by supplying (a) equipment and (b) personnel.

Adam Ingram: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government are very concerned at the situation in Nepal and have fully supported the Nepalese Government's efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Maoist insurgency. The United Kingdom has been equally supportive of the Nepalese Government, which has a duty to protect its citizens from Maoist violence, over the crisis caused by the Maoists' return to violence in November 2001. Our armed forces have close links with the Royal Nepalese Army and already provide them with training and are currently providing logistic equipment. We remain in close contact with the Nepalese Government.

DEFENCE

Type 45 Destroyer

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if Sea Dart anti-aircraft missiles on Type 45 destroyers can be used against surface targets; if Sea Dart missiles will be fitted to Type 45 destroyers; if the Aster anti-aircraft missiles on the Type 45 destroyers can be deployed against surface targets; what effect the move to littoral operations has on the need for anti-surface weapons capabilities; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The Sea Dart missile is fitted only to Type 42 destroyers. It has a limited anti-surface unit capability. It will not be fitted to Type 45 destroyers. The Aster missile system, with which the Type 45s will be equipped, will not have an anti-surface unit capability. The Type 45 Destroyer's anti-ship capability will be provided by the Sea Skua missile fitted to its Lynx helicopter, together with the 4.5" Mk8 Mod 1 Gun and twin 30mm guns. The Type 45 Destroyer is being designed to facilitate the incremental incorporation of additional capabilities, including a surface-to-surface guided missile should the requirement for one be demonstrated.
	Our ships have always needed to operate in the littoral, but the emphasis on ensuring that we can operate in this environment has increased, not least to take better advantage of the contribution of maritime forces in the force projection role. The Type 45, in its primary role of maritime air defence, will significantly enhance our ability to operate in this environment. For anti-surface capability, however, the main effect is to increase the emphasis on robust measures to protect ships operating in this area against the threat from fast inshore attack craft.

Regimental Strengths

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will state the (a) strength and (b) establishment of the Coldstream Guards;
	(2)  if he will state the strength and the establishment of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment;
	(3)  what the (a) establishment and (b) strength is of the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment.

Adam Ingram: The establishments and actual strengths for the Coldstream Guards, the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment and the Worcestershire and Sherwood Forester's Regiment as at 1 November are shown in the table.
	
		
			  Establishment strength Actual strength 
		
		
			 Coldstream Guards 609 604 
			 1st Battalion of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment 669 602 
			 2nd Battalion of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment 667 613 
			 Worcestershire and Sherwood Forester's Regiment 610 597 
		
	
	The establishments and actual strengths for the regiments above include the cap-badge strength as well as attached personnel from other Corps who are supporting the regiments in their current location.

Early Retirement

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many enlisted personnel have sought early retirement after serving less than the maximum period for a full pension in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Full pension for enlisted personnel is payable after completion of 37 years' service. However, those who complete 22 or more years' service are eligible for an Immediate Pension which, broadly, is calculated on a pro rata basis. The latest figures in each category are set out in the table.
	For the last three years, the total numbers of enlisted personnel who have retired before completing the necessary 37 years' service for full pension entitlement, but after having served the required 22 years for immediate pension are as shown in the table.
	
		
			  Personnel having served 22 years 
		
		
			 1 November 2000 to 31 October 2001 897 
			 1 November 1999 to 31 October 2000 752 
			 1 November 1998 to 31 October 1999 709 
		
	
	The total numbers who retired before completing the necessary 22 years for payment of immediate pension and were therefore entitled to a preserved award only are given in the table:
	
		
			  Personnel having served less than 22 years 
		
		
			 1 April 2000 to 1 March 2001 78,823 
			 1 April 1999 to 1 March 2000 79,412 
			 1 April 1998 to 1 March 1999 78,638

NBC Equipment

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Fuchs NBC defence vehicles and CAM-level 3s are (a) in service and (b) operational.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 9 November 2001, Official Report, column 434W, regarding the Fuchs NBC Defence Vehicle.
	A number of hand-held Chemical Agent Monitors (CAM) have recently been refurbished and sufficient stock is held to meet current defence planning assumptions. I am withholding the information with regard to specific quantities in accordance with Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Defence Analytical Statistical Agency

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what studies the Defence Analytical Statistical Agency has carried out in the last four years which have involved data on servicemen and women who had already retired.

Lewis Moonie: The Defence Analytical Services Agency routinely analyses data on men and women who have left the service to obtain historical information on the strengths and characteristics of the services and to help in predicting the future numbers and types of leavers. The source data are obtained from departmental pay and personnel systems.
	Retired service personnel may also be included in more general surveys conducted by the agency, for example if a retired officer is employed by the department in a civilian post or if a survey includes reservists.
	In the last four years the agency has also carried out some special studies involving retired service men and women. In 1999–2000 a study of people who die in service or are invalided out was undertaken to support the Joint Compensation Review, and information on leavers in general was used to support the Armed Forces Pension Scheme Review. The agency is currently carrying out a study of ex-service men with pensions and preserved pension rights to provide information on pension troughs in the Armed Forces Pension Scheme.

National Air Traffic Services

Sandra Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if his Department has completed negotiations with NATS on the contract for the new Scottish centre.

Adam Ingram: The Ministry of Defence is currently engaged in discussions with National Air Traffic Services about the future provision of military area radar support services. No decision has yet been made about whether it will conduct military area radar operations from the new Scottish centre.

National Security Adviser

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to establish an office of a national security adviser.

Geoff Hoon: None.

Pensions

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the cost to his Department to service current pension commitments in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Contributions towards retired pay and pensions from the Ministry of Defence in each of the last three years, for civilian and Service personnel, were as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 1998–99 1,155,334,581 
			 1999–2000 1,203,738,081 
			 2000–01 1,257,556,631

Warship Support Modernisation Project

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the bidding companies for the Warship Support Modernisation Project have been allowed to amend their bids since the closing date following subsequent discussions with Warship Support Agency officials.

Adam Ingram: Proposals were received in September 2001 from the Dockyard companies for potential partnering arrangements at each of the Naval Bases as part of the Warship Support Modernisation Initiative. Since then, the normal process of post-tender clarification, negotiation and assessment has been taking place. This has involved discussions by officials with representatives from each of the companies. As a result of these discussions, the proposals have been amended in places to clarify matters that had not been fully explained and to reflect the latest state of play in these negotiations.

Warship Support Modernisation Project

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the trade unions' alternative proposals for the Warship Support Modernisation Project demonstrate value for money; if value for money will be the sole criterion for the final decision; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Officials in the Ministry of Defence are currently assessing the alternative proposals from the MOD trade unions for warship support modernisation, alongside the in-house efficiency proposals from the Naval Base Management and the proposals from the Dockyard companies. All options are currently being compared for value for money, together with their technical, commercial and Human Resource implications.

Warship Support Modernisation Project

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the circumstances in which naval personnel can be used by a private company to provide a profit-making service to the Royal Navy;
	(2)  what arrangements have been put in place to secure the continuing service rights of naval personnel who will be working for a profit-making private company on the Warship Modernisation Project; at what cost; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: If partnering is the agreed way forward, a number of naval personnel will be seconded to work with the companies, chiefly in the area of engineering support. They will remain available for standard military duties, training and for other ad hoc military or emergency tasks. The use of these personnel will be charged to the companies on an annualised hours basis, whereby the companies will pay for the available working time of those personnel at local commercial rates. All naval personnel employed within the partnering arrangements will continue to be subject to the essential terms and conditions of service which apply to all Royal Naval personnel irrespective of where they serve.

Military Vehicles

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) All Terrain Mobility Platforms, (b) Hagglund BV 206, (c) Truck Utility Light/Medium, (d) Battlefield ambulances, (e) Truck Utility Medium, (f) Drops, (g) Truck Cargo 8 Tonne 4 x 4, (h) Truck Cargo 16 Tonne 8 x 4, (i) Foden GS 6 x 6 Recovery Vehicles, (j) Tank Transporter Unipower Commander and (k) Centurion Beach Armoured recovery vehicles are operational.

Adam Ingram: The information requested is held quarterly. The information for the quarter ending 31 December 2001 will be available at the end of this month. I will write to the hon. Member at that stage and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Military Aircraft

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) offensive fighters, (b) defensive fighters, (c) heavy bombers and (d) transporters were operational in (i) October and (ii) November 2001.

Adam Ingram: The number of aircraft of the types specified, in the RAF's Operating Fleet, as at 1 October and 1 November 2001, is detailed in the table. The Actual Operating Fleet comprises all aircraft which are fully operational or in 1st and 2nd line maintenance. Dedicated training aircraft of the aircraft models comprising the answer, have been excluded.
	
		
			   Number of aircraft  
			 Aircraft type 1 October 2001 1 November 2001 
		
		
			 Offensive fighter 208 204 
			 Defensive fighter 115 113 
			 Transporters 75 76 
			 Heavy Bombers 0 0

RAF Navigators

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many fully-trained navigators would be required by the RAF if it was fully recruited; how many are available; what steps he is taking to improve training facilities for navigators; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The requirement for trained navigators in the Royal Air Force on 1 December 2001 was 973. The trained strength was 1,176. However, the figures mask a deficit of 83 at junior officer level.
	The Military Flying Training System project is planned to provide the updated facilities required to train the navigators of the future. Other measures introduced over recent years to improve the training output include the introduction of new and redesigned training modules to ensure the syllabus continues to reflect the training needs, and the provision of extra flying training for students where necessary.

Government Actuary

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what use his Department has made of services provided by the Government Actuary's Department in each of the last four years.

Lewis Moonie: The Ministry of Defence regularly uses the services provided by the Government Actuary's Department. These services include receiving actuarial advice in respect of the armed forces pension scheme, advice regarding continuing pension provision for civilian staff transferred to a new employer under the TUPE regulations and also specific advice on casework involving both Service and Civilian staff pensions.
	The Government Actuary has provided these services for many years.

TREASURY

Inland Revenue (RSI Claims)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reason the firm of solicitors acting for the Inland Revenue in respect of the RSI Compensation Scheme are also acting for the PCS Union representing employees claiming compensation.

Andrew Smith: The solicitors who act for the PCS Union, representing staff who use the Inland Revenue's RSI Compensation Scheme, do not also act for the Inland Revenue. As with all litigation involving the Inland Revenue, the Solicitor to the Commissioners of the Inland Revenue acts on the Department's behalf in respect of the scheme.

Inland Revenue (RSI Claims)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the correspondence between the Inland Revenue and Solicitors Russell, Jones and Walker, in respect of the RSI Compensation Scheme.

Andrew Smith: It would be inappropriate to publish the correspondence between the Inland Revenue and the solicitors acting for the PCS Union in respect of the RSI Compensation Scheme, in accordance with Exemptions 4 (law enforcement and legal proceedings) and 12 (Privacy of an individual) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Inland Revenue (RSI Claims)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cases of RSI have been settled since the announcement of the Compensation Scheme for employees of the Inland Revenue in 1996; and how many are outstanding.

Andrew Smith: The Inland Revenue's RSI Compensation Scheme was set up on 20 December 1995. Since then, 638 claims have been submitted under the scheme. Of these, the remaining 243 claims are still being processed.

Working Families Tax Credit

Tom Cox: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people living in the London borough of Wandsworth are in receipt of the working families tax credit.

Andrew Smith: The number of recipients of the working families tax credit and the disabled person's tax credit in each region, local authority and parliamentary constituency are shown in "Working Families' and Disabled Person's Tax Credit Statistics. Geographical analyses." This can be found on the Inland Revenue website, www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk, under "Statistics", and in the Library.

Fraud

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer to the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field) of 12 November 2001, Official Report, column 585W, what assessments have been undertaken which show that the level of fraud on inactive national insurance accounts is no higher than for live accounts.

Andrew Smith: In 1999, as part of the NI Integrity Programme, a review of inactive accounts (where no national insurance contributions or credits have been recorded for three or more consecutive tax years) on NIRS2 was carried out. Most of these accounts relate to women who do not have paid employment. Others relate to people who have gone to live abroad.
	Part of the review resulted in an analysis of 100 accounts of contributors found guilty of fraud and 22 were inactive (22 per cent.) and 78 were live accounts. The number of fraudsters using inactive accounts appears to be in proportion to the number of inactive accounts held on NIRS2 (14 million of the 66 million accounts held on NIRS2 are inactive, which equals 21 per cent.).
	We have initiated further work under the banner of the 'National Insurance Number (NINO) Work Programme' sponsored by the NINO board (a joint Department for Work and Pensions and Inland Revenue project). This will look at all areas of vulnerable accounts held on the NIRS2 and Departmental Central Index systems.

Taxation

John Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of gross earnings was accounted for by (a) income tax, (b) national insurance contributions, (c) VAT, (d) other indirect taxes and (e) local taxes for (i) a single person, (ii) a married couple who are both working and (iii) a married couple with two children on (A) 50 per cent., (B) 75 per cent., (C) 100 per cent., (D) 150 per cent., (E) 200 per cent., (F) 500 per cent. and (G) 1,000 per cent. of average earnings in each year since 1997.

Andrew Smith: The available information, which shows income tax (including child benefit and working families tax credit from its first full year of implementation) and national insurance contributions for multiples of median earnings up to 200 per cent. was published in answer to a question from the hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton (Mr. Gibb) on 30 March 2001, Official Report, columns 843–44W. The same information for 500 per cent. and 1,000 per cent. of median earnings is given in the table. The estimates of median earnings used here are the same as those in the earlier answer, £19,600 per annum in 2001–02).
	Estimating the impact of indirect taxes on these very specific family types is meaningless because spending patterns vary considerably between households of the same type and income. The level of council tax payments also varies depending on where families live.
	
		
			   Multiples of median earnings  
			  500 per cent. 1,000 per cent. 
		
		
			 Single   
			 1997–98   
			 £ per week   
			 Gross income 1,603.65 3,207.30 
			 Income Tax 522.65 1,164.11 
			 NICs 41.54 41.54 
			 Percentage of gross earnings   
			 Income Tax 32.6 36.3 
			 NICs 2.6 1.3 
			 Tax and NICs 35.2 37.6 
			 1998–99   
			 £ per week   
			 Gross income 1,663.50 3,327.00 
			 Income Tax 542.05 1,207.45 
			 NICs 43.38 43.38 
			 Percentage of gross earnings   
			 Income Tax 32.6 36.3 
			 NICs 2.6 1.3 
			 Tax and NICs 35.2 37.6 
			
			 1999–2000   
			 £ per week   
			 Gross income 1,722.25 3,444.50 
			 Income Tax 560.27 1,249.17 
			 NICs 43.40 43.40 
			 Percentage of gross earnings   
			 Income Tax 32.5 36.3 
			 NICs 2.5 1.3 
			 Tax and NICs 35.1 37.5 
			
			 2000–01   
			 £ per week   
			 Gross income 1,799.75 3,599.50 
			 Income Tax 584.35 1,304.25 
			 NICs 45.90 45.90 
			 Percentage of gross earnings   
			 Income Tax 32.5 36.2 
			 NICs 2.6 1.3 
			 Tax and NICs 35.0 37.5 
			
			 2001–02   
			 £ per week   
			 Gross income 1,880.74 3,761.48 
			 Income Tax 611.30 1,363.60 
			 NICs 48.80 48.80 
			 Percentage of gross earnings   
			 Income Tax 32.5 36.3 
			 NICs 2.6 1.3 
			 Tax and NICs 35.1 37.5 
			
			  Two-earner married couple, no children 
			 1997–98   
			 £ per week   
			 Gross income 1,603.65 3,207.30 
			 Income Tax 398.57 1,040.03 
			 NICs 83.08 83.08 
			 Percentage of gross earnings   
			 Income Tax 24.9 32.4 
			 NICs 5.2 2.6 
			 Tax and NICs 30.0 35.0 
			
			 1998–99   
			 £ per week   
			 Gross income 1,663.50 3,327.00 
			 Income Tax 413.23 1,078.63 
			 NICs 86.76 86.76 
			 Percentage of gross earnings   
			 Income Tax 24.8 32.4 
			 NICs 5.2 2.6 
			 Tax and NICs 30.1 35.0 
			
			 1999–2000   
			 £ per week   
			 Gross income 1,722.25 3,444.50 
			 Income Tax 427.84 1,116.74 
			 NICs 86.80 86.80 
			 Percentage of gross earnings   
			 Income Tax 24.8 32.4 
			 NICs 5.0 2.5 
			 Tax and NICs 29.9 34.9 
			
			 2000–01   
			 £ per week   
			 Gross income 1,799.75 3,599.50 
			 Income Tax 448.81 1,168.71 
			 NICs 91.80 91.80 
			 Percentage of gross earnings   
			 Income Tax 24.9 32.5 
			 NICs 5.1 2.6 
			 Tax and NICs 30.0 35.0 
			
			 2001–02   
			 £ per week   
			 Gross income 1,880.74 3,761.48 
			 Income Tax 470.31 1,222.61 
			 NICs 97.60 97.60 
			 Percentage of gross earnings   
			 Income Tax 25.0 32.5 
			 NICs 5.2 2.6 
			 Tax and NICs 30.2 35.1 
			
			  Single-earner married couple, two children 
			 1997–98   
			 £ per week   
			 Gross income 1,603.65 3,207.30 
			 Income Tax 517.37 1,158.83 
			 NICs 41.54 41.54 
			 Child Benefit (CB) 20.05 20.05 
			 Percentage of gross earnings   
			 Income Tax 32.3 36.1 
			 NICs 2.6 1.3 
			 Income Tax+NICs-CB 33.6 36.8 
			
			 1998–99   
			 £ per week   
			 Gross income 1,663.50 3,327.00 
			 Income Tax 536.57 1,201.97 
			 NICs 43.38 43.38 
			 Child Benefit (CB) 20.75 20.75 
			 Percentage of gross earnings   
			 Income Tax 32.3 36.1 
			 NICs 2.6 1.3 
			 Income Tax+NICs-CB 33.6 36.8 
			
			 1999–2000   
			 £ per week   
			 Gross income 1,722.25 3,444.50 
			 Income Tax 556.48 1,245.38 
			 NICs 43.40 43.40 
			 Child Benefit (CB) 24.00 24.00 
			 Percentage of gross earnings   
			 Income Tax 32.3 36.2 
			 NICs 2.5 1.3 
			 Income Tax+NICs-CB 33.4 36.7 
			
			 2000–01   
			 £ per week   
			 Gross income 1,799.75 3,599.50 
			 Income Tax 584.35 1,304.25 
			 NICs 45.90 45.90 
			 Child Benefit (CB) 25.00 25.00 
			 Percentage of gross earnings   
			 Income Tax 32.5 36.2 
			 NICs 2.6 1.3 
			 Income Tax+NICs-CB 33.6 36.8 
			
			 2001–02   
			 £ per week   
			 Gross income 1,880.74 3,761.48 
			 Income Tax 611.30 1,363.60 
			 NICs 48.80 48.80 
			 Child Benefit (CB) 25.85 25.85 
			 Percentage of gross earnings   
			 Income Tax 32.5 36.3 
			 NICs 2.6 1.3 
			 Income Tax+NICs-CB 33.7 36.9 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Income tax payments are calculated on the basis that the households receive no tax reliefs other than the standard allowances and only have income from employment. All earners are assumed to pay Class 1 national insurance contributions at the contracted-in rate.
	2. Earnings are taken to be the median gross weekly earnings of all full-time employees on adult rates with pay unaffected by absence. (Median earnings are more representative of the population as whole than mean male full-time earnings).
	3. In line with the convention in the Tax Benefit Reference Manual, Child Benefit is treated as negative income tax.
	4. For the two earner family it is assumed that earnings are split 60 per cent.:40 per cent.

Child Poverty

Tom Cox: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent developments have taken place in the United Kingdom to reduce child poverty.

Andrew Smith: The Government are committed to abolishing child poverty within a generation and halving it by 2010. In support of this, it recently published a strategy document on child poverty, "Tackling Child Poverty—giving every child the best possible start in life", which will inform the Budget and Spending Review 2002.
	The Government's strategy involves:
	helping to ensure a decent family income, with work for those who can and support for those who can't;
	delivering excellent public services for all neighbourhoods and targeted interventions for those with additional needs;
	supporting parents so that they can provide better support for their children; and
	harnessing the power and expertise of the voluntary and community sectors, providing support for innovation and good practice and building strategic partnerships with these sectors to fight child poverty.
	As a result of personal tax and benefit measures announced in the last Parliament, it is estimated that there are 1.2 million fewer children in poverty than would otherwise have been the case. The Government have also made substantial new investments in services for children. Over the four years to 2004, average real-terms annual growth in spending on education and training in England will be over 5.5 per cent. In addition, extra funds have been made available for SureStart, Neighbourhood Renewal and the Children's Fund.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Part-time Workers

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations will apply in Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the application of this directive to England, Scotland and Wales.

Alan Johnson: In Northern Ireland, implementation of employment legislation is a matter for the Northern Ireland Assembly. Responsibility for regulations on part-time workers rests with the Minister for Employment and Learning. I understand that the Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000 came into operation on 1 July 2000.
	The Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 came into force in England, Scotland and Wales on 1 July 2000 and ensure that part-timers are treated no less favourably than comparable full-timers in their terms and conditions unless this is objectively justified.
	The measure ensures that Britain's six million part-timers can no longer be treated as second class citizens.

Parental Leave

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what mechanism was used for measuring the uptake of parental leave in the last three years; and what was the (a) uptake of parental leave and (b) proportion of those eligible who took parental leave in the same period.

Alan Johnson: The Department commissioned a survey of working parents to inform the Government's review of maternity and parental leave. Initial results were published in the Green Paper "Work and Parents competitiveness and choice", published in December 2000, and in the accompanying document "Work and Parents competitiveness and choice—Research and Analysis". The survey found that, by autumn 2000, at least 3 per cent. of working parents had taken parental leave since December 1999.
	Questions on take-up of parental leave have recently been introduced in the Labour Force Survey. Results are expected later this year.

Sustainable Development

Roger Casale: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her Department's definition is of the term sustainable development.

Nigel Griffiths: holding answer 9 January 2002
	The DTI's definitions of sustainable developments and the Department's strategy was published in October 2000 and is also available on the DTI's website www.dti.gov.uk/sustainbly.

Graduates

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the impact on productivity of the increased proportion of graduates in the work force.

Douglas Alexander: holding answer 9 January 2002
	Levels of educational attainment, including attainment at a tertiary level, are one of a range of factors which impact on productivity and competitiveness that are identified in the DTI's UK Competitiveness Indicators (Second Edition, February 2001). A copy is available in the Libraries of the House. The economic benefits of increased participation in higher education are widely recognised. For example a recent report from the OECD states that:
	High tertiary entry and participation rates help to ensure the development and maintenance of a highly educated population and labour force. Tertiary education is associated with better access to employment and higher earnings. Rates of entry to both types of tertiary education are an indication, in part, of the degree to which the population is acquiring high-level skills and knowledge valued by the labour market in knowledge societies (Education at Glance—OECD Indicators, 2001).

Nuisance Faxes

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to investigate nuisance faxes; and what charges can be made against those who continue to send unprompted material.

Douglas Alexander: Unsolicited direct marketing by fax is regulated under the Telecoms Data Protection and Privacy Directive, implemented in the UK by the Telecommunications (Data Protection and Privacy) Regulations 1999. Under these regulations, unsolicited direct marketing faxes to individual subscribers are banned unless they have given their prior consent. Corporate subscribers, including limited companies, are entitled to register with the Fax Preference Service or instruct particular senders not to send them any further faxes. (Individuals may also reinforce their protection by registering). Any faxes which advertise premium rate services are in addition subject to self-regulatory control by the industry regulator, ICSTIS, and must comply with the ICSTIS code of conduct.
	The Information Commissioner enforces the Telecommunications (Data Protection and Privacy) Regulations. The Commissioner may send an enforcement notice to anyone who sends faxes to individuals who have not given their consent, or to subscribers who have registered on the Fax Preference Service; ultimately, failure to comply with enforcement notices is a criminal offence punishable by a fine.

Consignia

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what were the latest annual bonuses paid to managers of Consignia in each business unit of Consignia, broken down by (a) gender and (b) ethnic origin.

Douglas Alexander: Since the company was given the commercial freedom it had long sought, operational issues like bonus payments are a matter for the company.

Consignia

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the size of the Consignia work force is.

Douglas Alexander: I am advised by Consignia that the average number of staff, calculated on a full-time equivalent basis, including part-time employees, employed by the company in the year ended 31 March 2001 was 217,964.

Consignia

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the average rate of pay is for (a) the work force, (b) managers and (c) non-managers of Consignia, broken down by business unit, and in each business unit by (i) gender and (ii) ethnic origin.

Douglas Alexander: Rates of pay are an operational issue for Consignia.
	I am advised by the company that this information is not available in the format requested.

Exporters

Si�n Simon: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what criteria need to be met by British manufacturers if they wish to obtain preferential status.

Nigel Griffiths: The Government do not give preferential status to particular exporters.

Postal Archive

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement about the (a) status of and (b) future of the postal archive and the property of what was formerly the Postal Museum.

Douglas Alexander: This is an issue for Consignia plc. I am advised by the company that the archives of the Post Office from 17th to 20th century, including historical documents, maps and posters, are open to the public at Freeling House at Mount Pleasant in London on weekdays with no need of an appointment.
	The artefacts of the national Postal Museum are stored at Freeling House and most of the philatelic material may be viewed by appointment. Various options are currently being considered for enhanced philatelic study facilities and improved public access to the museum collections.

Computer Hardware

Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the impact of computer hardware suppliers tying their customers to a particular software operating system, with particular reference to small businesses.

Douglas Alexander: All UK consumers of computer hardware are free to make purchases from a range of suppliers and to choose one providing a package that will meet their individual software requirements. I am not aware of any limitation of consumers' choice in this area. If, however, there is any evidence of anti-competitive behaviour this should be forwarded to the Director General of the Office of Fair Trading.

Select Committee Reports

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made in meeting the Government's commitments (a) in response to recommendation (d) of the Eighth report of the Select Committee on Trade and Industry, UK Online Reviewed: The First Annual report of the E-Minister and E-Envoy, dated March 2001 and (b) in response to recommendation (e) of the Fourteenth report of the Select Committee on Trade and Industry on the Electronic Communications Bill, dated October 1999.

Douglas Alexander: (a) Progress in response to this commitment was reported on pages 1819 of the UK Online Annual Report 2001, and in a memorandum to the Select Committee on Trade and Industry dated 20 December. Copies of both documents have been placed in the Library of the House.
	(b) Departments have until recently proceeded with the task of identifying statutory requirements of writing for updating on the basis that an order under section 8 of the Electronic Communications Act, or other amending legislation, was necessary to authorise or facilitate electronic communication in fulfilment of the requirement. The Law Commission published an Advice to Government on 19 December which gives a different view on what constitutes 'writing' in the context of electronic communications. The Government are still considering the implications of this advice. The Government have, however, in the light of the advice and other developments, modified their approach to updating the law to authorise or facilitate electronic communication. Their revised policy is set out in the memorandum to the Select Committee on Trade and Industry dated 20 December, which also includes lists of legislation so far identified by Departments for updating.

ECGD

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she intends to publish the ECGD's Annual Report and Resource Accounts for 200001.

Patricia Hewitt: The Export Credits Guarantee Department's (ECGD's) Annual Report and Resource Accounts for 200001 were laid before the House this morning. I am pleased to say that they demonstrate once more that British capital goods exporters and investors have been successful in winning valuable overseas orders with Government insurance and guarantee support worth 5.6 billion. Furthermore, they show that ECGD is in a good financial position from which to continue supporting further business while protecting the interests of the taxpayer, in what is a difficult period for the global economy.

Trade Credits

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what was the value of trade credits to heavily indebted poor countries guaranteed by the UK Government which were cancelled in each year since 1983.

Nigel Griffiths: No such debts in relation to trade credits were cancelled between 1983 and 1990 inclusive. Amounts cancelled in each year since were as follows:
	
		
			 Year Million 
		
		
			 1991 6.62 
			 1992 17.80 
			 1993 26.89 
			 1994 8.76 
			 1995 23.74 
			 1996 180.69 
			 1997 22.49 
			 1998 33.04 
			 1999 56.91 
			 2000 48.13 
			 2001 135.04 
			  
			 Total 560.11

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Performing Arts

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the (a) new companies, (b) new work and (c) new venues that have been funded by her Department in order to increase access to the performing arts in the last 12 months.

Kim Howells: We have contacted the Arts Council of England to request the information required, and my right hon. and noble Friend the Minister for the Arts will write to the hon. Member as soon as it is available, placing copies of her letter in the Libraries of the House.

Public Libraries

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the libraries based in the Buckingham constituency which have received funding from the (a) Public Library Volunteer scheme and (b) People's Network programme indicating (i) the nature of the project, (ii) the date of the award and (iii) the amount provided in each case.

Kim Howells: My Department, in conjunction with the Home Office Active Community Unit, is match funding the Lending Time scheme led by CSV (Community Service Volunteers) to promote the use of volunteers in libraries. Expressions of interest were invited from libraries through the Library Association and six libraries have been selected to pilot the scheme. Buckinghamshire did not express an interest in this scheme.
	All eight public libraries in Buckingham constituency have been awarded funds from the New Opportunities Access to Lifelong Learning Programme to support the People's Network programme. The funding will have provided, by summer 2002, 24 new terminals within Buckingham. The award was announced on 11 April 2001. Awards for individual libraries are not available. In total, Buckinghamshire library service will receive 827,138 to connect all its libraries to a high speed broadband network, and provide new PCs and appropriate training for librarians.

Sports Drug Tests

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussion she has had with UK Sport about the number of drug tests on British triathletes.

Richard Caborn: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had no direct discussions on the number of drug tests on British triathletes, although she receives UK Sport's annual reports of the testing programmes for all sports covered by their anti-doping programme.

Sports Drug Tests

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions UK Sport has had with the International Triathlon Union about drug testing; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: UK Sport works in partnership with the national federations in the UK to deliver testing programmes both in and out of competition. There are a small number of events in the UK which fall under the international federation's responsibility and on these occasions UK Sport liaises with the international federation direct. The last such event was the London Triathlon in September 1998.
	In 200001 triathlon was introduced to the Olympic Games in Sydney. The focus of the testing programme was on the pre-Olympic testing of UK triathletes both in the UK and in Australia. This programme was arranged in partnership with the British Triathlon Association. In 200102, so far two triathlon events in the UK have been tested and one World Class Squad Training Day making a total of 37 tests to date.
	Discussions are on-going about triathlon introducing an out of competition testing programme for individual triathletes, and the British Triathlon Association have been actively working towards increasing their anti- doping efforts.

Royal Parks Agency

Iain Luke: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what performance targets were set for the Royal Parks Agency for 200102.

Kim Howells: The following performance targets were set for the Royal Parks Agency for 200001:
	Financial and Efficiency
	To increase income by 10 per cent. from the 200001 level, from all sources except recharges and VAT refunds.
	Stay within the revised running costs allocation.
	Seek to bring the hourly cost of a Royal Parks Police Constable on duty in line with the recommendation in the Speed Report.
	Visitor satisfaction
	Achieve an overall quality rating of 89 per cent. from visitors to the parks. The minimum rating for any one park should be no lower than 85 per cent., compared with 83 per cent. in 200001.
	Fabric
	Achieve an average rating from visitors of at least 89 per cent. on cleanliness in the parks. The minimum rating for a park should be no lower than 85 per cent.
	Maintain an average score of 89 per cent. for soft landscape presentation, compared with a score of 88 per cent. in 200001. The minimum score for a park should be no lower than 85 per cent. compared to 82 per cent. in 200001.
	Re-appraise maintenance priorities, and set annual targets and meaningful indicators for reducing the backlog of works and maintenance.

SCOTLAND

Euro

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if the results of a future referendum on British membership of the euro will allow identification of votes cast for and against according to (a) parliamentary constituency, (b) local authority area and (c) Scotland.

Helen Liddell: The conduct of referendums has, since 16 February 2001, been the responsibility of the Electoral Commission, following the coming into force of provisions in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.

Computer Crime

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many cases of computer (a) hacking, (b) fraud and (c) theft her Department recorded in (i) 2000 and (ii) 2001; and on how many occasions in those years computer systems have been illegally accessed by computer hackers (A) within and (B) outside her Department.

Helen Liddell: The Scotland Office was established in its present form on 1 July 1999. During the specified period, there were no cases of computer fraud, no incidents of computer hacking, and no systems were illegally accessed; neither were there any cases of computer theft reported by the Scotland Office.

TRANSPORT, LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND THE REGIONS

Waste Policy

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how much additional money will be available for local authority recycling and composting in (a) 200102, (b) 200203, (c) 200304 and (d) 200405, as a result of the increases in SSA for environmental, cultural and protective services after allowing for (i) cost increases in landfill and incineration and (ii) inflation.

Alan Whitehead: holding answer 17 December 2001
	SR2000 provided real terms increases for the Environmental, Protective and Cultural Services (EPCS) block of the Standard Spending Assessment which includes these services. By the third year the EPCS will have risen by 1.1 billion. Landfill and incineration costs will be affected by factors such as the volume of waste, pressure on landfill gate fees and the landfill tax, which is currently 12 per tonne for active waste and will be increased by 1 per year through to 200405. Their effect on local authority costs will also depend on how much waste is recycled or composted. It is for each local authority to decide how much of the revenue support grant it receives, and its other resources including the amount raised through council tax, should be directed towards any particular service.

Vehicle Lights

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assessment he has made of the impact that the introduction of mandatory day-time running lights on all vehicles will have on the number of road-related (a) accidents and (b) fatalities.

David Jamieson: The Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions commissioned the Transport Research Laboratory to carry out a review of the methodology used by the SWOV Institute in the Netherlands for their report on the safety effects of daytime running lights. This report, carried out on behalf of the European Commission, which combined the results of 24 published studies, suggested that the universal use of daytime running lights in the United Kingdom in 1995 would have saved 648 lives. This would represent a 17 per cent. reduction in fatal accidents. The hypothetical overall casualty reduction would be 29 per cent.
	The Transport Research Laboratory's review concluded that the claims for potential accident savings appeared exaggerated because daytime running lights can only be effective in preventing a limited type of accident.
	The Department is proposing to carry out further research into the effectiveness of daytime running lamps.

Vehicle Lights

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what progress has been made towards the fitting of daytime running lights on all new vehicles.

David Jamieson: A commitment to fit daytime running lamps was included in the European Commission's proposals to introduce pedestrian protection features in new cars by a negotiated agreement with car manufacturers.
	This element of the proposals has been deferred for further consideration.

Transport Projects

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions which transport infrastructure projects given formal approval since 1997 will affect the Buckingham constituency; and if he will indicate the cost of each project.

David Jamieson: There are a number of significant infrastructure schemes, either within the Buckingham constituency or nearby, which will affect the constituency. Further information is given in the table.
	
		000 
		
			 Scheme Cost 
		
		
			 199899  
			 A43 TowcesterM40 dualling(2),(4) 56,600 
			   
			 200001  
			 Stoke Hammond and Linslade Western Bypass(3) 32,400 
			 M40 Handy Cross improvement measures 3,000 
			 A41 Aston Clinton Bypass(4) 21,000 
			   
			 200102  
			 Berryfieldsnew right turn lane(4) 250 
			 A5 Old Stratford Roundabout signalisation(4) 250 
			   
			 200203  
			 Complementary works for M40 Handy Cross junction 400 
			 M1 J14 minor improvements(4) 100 
			  
			 Total 114,000 
		
	
	(2) Scheme confirmed in A New Deal for Trunk Roads in England published in July 1998
	(3) Provisionally accepted local authority major scheme
	(4) Highways Agency Scheme

Railtrack

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the relationship is between the Strategic Rail Authority and Partnerships UK with respect to the proposed bid to take over Railtrack plc by a not for profit company.

Stephen Byers: The Strategic Rail Authority is now the sponsor of the bid by the proposed company limited by guarantee (CLG) which will put forward a proposal to the administrator to take over the assets and liabilities of Railtrack plc and its role as network operator. It is for the CLG bid team and the SRA to decide what further assistance they may require.

Affordable Housing

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many affordable housing units there were; and what was the proportion occupied in rural areas by (a) constituency, and (b) local authority for each year since 1990.

Sally Keeble: Information is not available in the form requested.
	New affordable homes in rural settlements in England with a population of 3,000 or less are funded by the Housing Corporation and by local authorities, or through the planning system without public subsidy.
	From 1 April 1991 to 31 March 1992 and each of the following years up to and including 1 April to 30 November 2001 the following affordable homes in rural settlements in England with a population of 3,000 or less were completed and funded, by the Housing Corporation's Approved Development Programme and Local Authority Social Housing Grant.
	
		
			 Year Total 
		
		
			 199192 803 
			 199293 2,268 
			 199394 1,567 
			 199495 1,341 
			 199596 1,811 
			 199697 1,678 
			 199798 2,020 
			 199899 1,792 
			 19992000 1,533 
			 200001 1,278 
			 200102 463 
		
	
	The number of affordable housing units completed through the planning system is not collected centrally. I will write to the hon. Member with a breakdown by local authority of the affordable housing completions shown above.

London Underground

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answers of 10 December 2001, Official Report, column 560W, on London Underground, what were the comparable figures for 2000.

David Jamieson: These are operational matters for London Underground who inform me that there were:
	(a) 85 signal failures causing delays to services on the District line between Earl's Court and Wimbledon during 2000; and
	(b) 38 train delays of over 15 minutes and 155 peak time cancellations of District line trains because of train defects during 2000.

London Underground

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 3 December 2001, Official Report, column 15W, on London Underground, if the terms of reference referred to were the final terms of reference agreed with Ernst  Young; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The precise timing of the Ernst  Young report is under review as it depends on London Underground's progress with its evaluation of bids. Otherwise, the terms of reference referred to are final. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has made clear that he will publish Ernst  Young's report before any decisions are taken on whether to sign contracts.

Millennium Dome

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions 
	(1)  how much is to be paid for the Dome structure by English Partnerships' exclusive partner;
	(2)  how much is to be paid for the building land adjacent to the Dome by English Partnerships' exclusive partner; and when the payment will be made.

Sally Keeble: Through the proposed deal between English Partnerships and Meridian Delta Ltd., English Partnerships expects to receive hundreds of millions of pounds, over the lifetime of the project, including a guaranteed minimum price for the land that English Partnerships is putting into the joint venture. The amount to be received by English Partnerships will be determined further during negotiations with Meridian Delta Ltd., and will also be dependent on timing and quantum of future development.

Millennium Dome

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what guarantees he is seeking from English Partnerships' exclusive partner about the circumstances in which they would be permitted to demolish the Dome structure.

Sally Keeble: The proposed deal with Meridian Delta Ltd. envisages a review of the Dome's physical structure in 2019, in the light of the then commercial conditions and the projected maintenance costs of the Dome.
	Anschutz Entertainment Group, part of the Meridian Delta Ltd. consortium, and who would be responsible for building and operating the arena inside the Dome, have stated, publicly, their intention to retain the Dome for many years more than this.

Drink Driving

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many motorists were detected driving with a blood alcohol level beyond the permitted maximum broken down by bands of 20 mg in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

David Jamieson: The number of positive or refused breath tests recorded in England and Wales in each of the last three years are shown in the table. This information is obtained from the Home Office. Information is not collected centrally on blood alcohol levels.
	
		Positive or refused breath tests recorded in England and Wales
		
			 Year Number 
		
		
			 1998 102,300 
			 1999 94,100 
			 2000 94,600

Housing (Tower Hamlets)

Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what factors account for the reduction in the major repairs allowance available for housing repairs in the London borough of Tower Hamlets.

Sally Keeble: The major repairs allowance is calculated on a per dwelling basis. Between 1 April 2000 and 31 March 2001 the number of local authority dwellings in Tower Hamlets fell by almost 6 per cent. However, a 2.4 per cent. increase in the allowance per dwelling for next year restricted the overall reduction in Tower Hamlets' 200203 allocation to 3.6 per cent.

Homelessness

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what was the estimated number of homeless living in (a) London and (b) cities outside London in each of the last 10 years.

Sally Keeble: I have arranged for a table to be placed in the Libraries of the House. This present information on households accepted as homeless and in priority need in each financial year, and households resident in temporary accommodation at the 31 March of each year, as reported by English local authorities on their annual Housing Investment Programme returns.

Homelessness

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many homeless people aged between 16 and 18 years were registered on local authority housing lists in each of the last 15 years.

Sally Keeble: The Department collects information on the number of households accepted by local authorities in England under the homelessness provisions of the 1985 and 1996 Housing Acts as being eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need. Available estimates of those cases where the authority considered the presence of a vulnerable young person to be the most crucial category in determining priority need are given in the table. This category was not separately identified in statistics collected prior to June 1991.
	Information collected by the Department on local authorities' housing registers does not include an analysis by age of head of household.
	
		Homeless households accepted by local authorities in England -- 199192 to 200001
		
			  Households with vulnerable young people As a percentage of total 
		
		
			 199192 3,400 2.4 
			 199293 4,650 3.4 
			 199394 4,360 3.5 
			 199495 3,850 3.3 
			 199596 3,780 3.2 
			 199697 3,520 3.2 
			 199798 3,200 3.1 
			 199899 3,560 3.4 
			 19992000 3,590 3.4 
			 200001 5,170 4.5 
			 200102(5) 2,870 4.8 
		
	
	(5) April-September
	Notes:
	Vulnerable young persons are typically, but not exclusively, aged 18 or under. Households headed by 16 to 18-year-olds but accepted under another priority-need category (such as with dependent children or with a pregnant woman) cannot be separately identified and are not included in these figures.
	Source:
	DTLR P1(E) housing returns (quarterly)

Homelessness

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many homeless households are in (a) temporary and (b) bed-and-breakfast accommodation in each region of the country; what steps are being taken to reduce these numbers; and if he will make a statement.

Sally Keeble: At 30 September 2001, the numbers of households in each region in temporary accommodation (which includes bed-and-breakfast) and in bed-and- breakfast (rounded to the nearest 10) were:
	
		
			  Total Of which bed-and-breakfast 
		
		
			 North East 1,540 60 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 2,080 270 
			 East Midlands 2,050 70 
			 Eastern 5,520 200 
			 London 44,340 8,540 
			 South East 12,860 1,410 
			 South West 5,590 1,160 
			 West Midlands 1,820 120 
			 North West 2,150 150 
			 England 77,940 12,290 
		
	
	The Homelessness Bill, when enacted, will require local authorities to conduct a review of the levels, and likely future levels, of all forms of homelessness in their area and to develop a strategy for preventing homelessness and ensuring that sufficient accommodation and support is available for those who are or may become homeless.
	The Minister for Housing and Planning also announced on 3 December that a new Homelessness Directorate will be set up to bring together and invigorate existing work to help homeless people, as well as develop new work to help prevent homelessness, and investigate its underlying causes.
	Additionally, we are determined to reduce local authority use of unsatisfactory accommodation to accommodate the homeless. Over the next two years the new bed-and-breakfast unit will work with partners to introduce measures to reduce the need to place families, especially those with children, in bed-and-breakfast. The unit will shortly be publishing targets.

Rent Arrears

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the level of rent arrears was in each local authority in each of the last 10 years.

Sally Keeble: I have placed in the Libraries of the House a table showing the level of rent arrears as reported by each local authority in England at the end of the financial year, for each of the last 10 years.

Council House Sales

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what percentage of capital receipts raised from the sale of council houses has been spent on building and renovating council stock in each of the last 20 years.

Sally Keeble: The information requested is not available. The receipts from council house sales available for new capital expenditure are used, along with other un-hypothecated capital resources (eg other capital receipts, borrowing supported by basic credit approvals), to finance authorities' overall capital programmes.

Housing

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many people have been housed in (a) local authority housing, (b) social housing and (c) the rented private sector in each of the last 15 years.

Sally Keeble: The information requested for England is shown in the following table. Annual figures are available only from 1993 onwards when the Survey of English Housing started. Figures for earlier years come from a periodic supplementary questionnaire on housing topics that was included in the Labour Force Survey. For years before 1993 figures in terms of persons are not readily available so the information requested has been provided in terms of households. If information about housing in Wales is required inquiries should be made to the Office for the Secretary of State for Wales.
	
		Housing tenure in England 1984 to 2000 -- Thousand
		
			   Local authority Registered social landlord Private rented sector 
		
		
			 Households
			 1984 4,660 374 1,920 
			 1988 4,246 460 1,702 
			 1991 3,872 564 1,824 
			 1993 3,672 726 1,876 
			 1994 3,677 767 1,936 
			 1995 3,494 910 2,011 
			 1996 3,482 1,010 2,047 
			 1997 3,333 987 1,991 
			 1998 3,324 1,028 2,044 
			 1999 3,137 1,161 2,099 
			 2000 2,941 1,279 2,003 
			 
			 Persons
			 1984 .. .. .. 
			 1988 .. .. .. 
			 1991 .. .. .. 
			 1993 8,505 1,466 4,225 
			 1994 8,411 1,645 4,143 
			 1995 7,938 1,928 4,383 
			 1996 7,887 2,245 4,424 
			 1997 7,485 2,165 4,387 
			 1998 7,513 2,240 4,415 
			 1999 7,085 2,479 4,514 
			 2000 6,520 2,792 4,369

Housing

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many local authorities will be in a position to implement an arm's length management organisation for their housing stock in the next two years.

Sally Keeble: It is open to any local authority with housing stock to manage that stock through arm's length arrangements, subject to the agreement of the Secretary of State to the delegation of their housing management functions. We do not hold information on the number of authorities that may be considering this option. On Thursday 29 November 2001, we announced conditional funding allocations to eight local authorities which intend to pursue this option Official Report, column 1064W. These allocations will be confirmed during 2002 if the authorities meet the necessary criteria. Applications for the next round of conditional allocations are due by the end of February 2002.

Housing

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many housing units were cleared in the public and private sector in the last five years, broken down by region.

Sally Keeble: According to information supplied by local authorities, the number of dwellings demolished in the private and public sector in England by region in the last five financial years is given in the table.
	
		
			  199697 199798 199899 19992000 200001 
		
		
			 England 10,852 14,030 13,579 15,218 17,969 
			 North East 1,517 1,432 1,786 2,446 2,222 
			 North West 3,206 3,549 2,678 3,459 5,713 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 1,100 1,825 2,637 2,282 3,615 
			 East Midlands 265 373 191 139 674 
			 West Midlands 1,601 2,135 1,679 2,646 1,332 
			 East 355 700 345 220 325 
			 London 1,679 2,797 2,819 2,870 2,400 
			 South East 791 910 943 832 960 
			 South West 338 309 501 324 728

Disabled Facilities Grants

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the progress of the review of disabled facilities grants.

Sally Keeble: holding answer 9 January 2002
	There has been no review of disabled facilities grants as such. However, the Government have been considering the maximum limit for grant, and preparing new guidance.
	The Government have decided that the maximum limit for mandatory disabled facilities grant in England should be increased from 20,000 to 25,000. This change will take effect from 21 January 2002. Government resources to local authorities for the disabled facilities grant budget for 199293 will be increased to 88 million and we will shortly be announcing individual DFG allocations to local authorities for that year.
	In conjunction with the Department of Health, my Department is also preparing new statutory and good practice guidance for local authorities covering all aspects of housing adaptations for disabled people. We hope to publish this new guidance in the spring of 2002.

Multiple Occupation

Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions 
	(1)  if he will publish a summary of the responses he received to the consultation paper on Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation in England, issued by his Department in 1999; and if he will place copies of the responses in the Library;
	(2)  when he intends to undertake formal consultation on reforms to the Housing (Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation) Regulations 1990; and if he will make a statement.

Sally Keeble: I hope to publish both of these papers in the near future. However, what we say on these matters will need to have regard to the position reached on the Home Energy Conservation Bill, currently before Parliament, which among other things would provide for a revised definition of a house in multiple occupation and introduce mandatory registration and licensing of such properties.

Multiple Occupation

Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many (a) households and (b) people in private rented HMO dwellings there are in England, broken down by (i) traditional and bedsit HMOs, (ii) shared houses and flats, (iii) households with lodgers and (iv) HMO buildings converted into flats.

Sally Keeble: The table provides the most recent estimates (1996) for number of households and people in private rented HMO dwellings in England. Estimates(6) of the number of households and people in private rented HMOs in 1996
	
		
			  Households People 
		
		
			 Traditional or bedsit HMOs 165,000 267,000 
			 Shared houses and flats 188,000 547,000 
			 Households with lodgers 202,000 (7)253,000 
			 HMO buildings converted into flats(8) 302,000 472,000 
			  
			 Total(9) 857,000 1,539,000 
		
	
	(6) There is a margin of error involved in the estimates arising from the sample nature of the English House Condition Survey and from the complexities of classifying some types of HMO.
	(7) The number of people refers to the number of lodgers and excludes the landlord and members of the landlord's household.
	(8) Shared converted flats, households with lodgers in converted flats and bedsits in converted flats are included in the respective columns and not in the converted flat total .
	(9) Please note that the total excludes households and people within private rented, purpose built HMOs for which the EHCS sample size is too small to produce reliable estimates.
	Source:
	English House Condition Survey 1996: Houses in Multiple Occupation in the private rented sector (DTLR:1999)

Multiple Occupation

Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many private rented houses in multiple occupation accommodation units and dwellings there are in England, broken down by (a) traditional and bedsit HMOs, (b) shared houses and flats, (c) households with lodgers and (d) HMO buildings converted into flats.

Sally Keeble: The table provides the most recent estimates (1996) for the number of private rented house in multiple occupation accommodation units and dwellings in England.
	
		Estimates(10) of the number of private rented HMO accommodation units and dwellings in 1996
		
			   Accommodation units Dwellings 
		
		
			 Traditional or bedsit HMOs 219,000 56,000 
			 Shared houses and flats 189,000 189,000 
			 Households with lodgers 202,000 202,000 
			 HMO buildings converted into flats(11) 337,000 337,000 
			  
			 Total (12) 947,000 784,000 
		
	
	(10) There is a margin of error involved in the estimates arising from the sample nature of the English House Condition Survey and from the complexities of classifying some types of HMO.
	(11) Shared converted flats, households with lodgers in converted flats and bedsits in converted flats are included in the respective columns and not in the converted flat total.
	(12) Please note that the total excludes accommodation units and dwellings within private rented, purpose built HMOs for which the EHCS sample size is too small to produce reliable estimates.
	Source:
	English House Condition Survey 1996: Houses in Multiple Occupation in the private rented sector (DTLR:1999)

Housing Fitness Standard

Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions when he intends to replace the housing fitness standard by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System; and if he will make a statement.

Sally Keeble: The Housing Health and Safety Rating System will set out a new approach to the assessment of housing conditions. The Government intend to legislate, as soon as parliamentary time allows, so that local authorities can take action against properties posing health and safety risks on the basis of the new system.

Housing Fitness Standard

Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will publish a summary of the responses he received to the consultation paper on the replacement of the housing fitness standard by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System.

Sally Keeble: We consulted last year on a framework of legislation and guidance within which local authorities would use the Housing Health and Safety Rating System as the basis for action against unacceptable housing conditions. I am placing a summary of the responses in the Library of the House. It will also be available shortly on the Department's housing website at www.housing.dtlr.gov.uk/information/index08.htm.

Alternative Fuels

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions 
	(1)  how many (a) LPG and (b) natural gas refuelling depots there are in (i) the UK and (ii) Wales; and if he will provide a list of where these points in Wales are;
	(2)  what measures he is taking to ensure that the availability of grants to convert vehicles to run on liquidified petroleum gas which are available from PowerShift is widely publicised;
	(3)  how many applications there have been for PowerShift grants for converting vehicles to run on LPG; and how many grants have been approved.

David Jamieson: The Energy Saving Trust run the PowerShift programme, covering Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as well as England, on behalf of the Government. There is a comprehensive marketing strategy to raise awareness of LPG and other alternative fuels, and publicise the conversion grants available. There is an interactive website, and regular articles in national and regional newspapers and magazines.
	Since the PowerShift programme began in 1996, the trust has received a UK total of 3,809 applications, of which 2,642 were approved as eligible, covering the conversion of 12,404 vehicles to run on LPG. Of these, the figures for Wales are 157 applications received, and 124 applications approved as eligible, covering 559 vehicles.
	Powershift grants have been limited to conversion of vehicles up to one-year-old, but have recently been extended to be available for vehicles up to five-years-old for which quality LPG conversions are available.
	The number of LPG refuelling points have been growing rapidly and now stands at around 1,000, of which 91 are in Wales. Natural gas is used in heavy vehicles. There are around 30 refuelling points in the UK, mainly at vehicle operators' depots. None is in Wales. Information on LPG refuelling points is available on the PowerShift website at: www.transportaction.org.uk, and I have placed a copy of the present list in the Library. There is no published list of CNG refuelling depots.

New Dwellings

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will estimate the number of new dwellings to be completed by (a) local authorities and (b) registered social landlords using the funds provided for this purpose in each of the years of the current Comprehensive Spending Review.

Sally Keeble: My Department estimates that under the Housing Corporation's Approved Development Programme, Registered Social Landlords will produce a total of around 65,000 new or rehabilitated homes for low cost renting or home ownership over the period of the current spending review, 2001 to 2004. The precise number depends critically on the costs of land and construction. This does not include Starter Home Initiative funded new dwellings.
	In addition, my Department estimates that local authorities, through local authority social housing grant, will fund around 20,000 affordable homes. This does not include the release of local authority dwellings through the cash incentive scheme. These are estimates based on current investment patterns. How local authorities decide to allocate resources in the future is a matter for local discretion.
	Estimates of the number of homes to be provided in each of the three years are not available.

Parish Polls

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what plans he has to amend the rules on parish polls to require any voter adding his or her name to the request for a poll on a particular issue to declare any interest that they may have in the subject of the poll; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Whitehead: As part of our initiatives, following the Rural White Paper (Cm 4909), to strengthen local democracy at parish level we will be reviewing the operation of parish polls including the proposal that any voter adding his or her name to the request for a poll on a particular issue should declare any interest that they may have in the subject of the poll. Any change to the current requirements will require primary legislation.

Local Authority Housing

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will list the local authorities in (a) England, by region, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales that own housing stock indicating in each case (i) how many properties they manage, (ii) how much debt they have in their housing revenue account and (iii) what plans they have to deal with their investment and repair backlogs.

Sally Keeble: The information requested on the numbers of dwellings owned by each local authority in England and the associated Housing Revenue Account debt, has been placed in the Libraries of the House. Details of the information provided on plans to tackle renovation and improvement backlog is in the Housing Revenue Account Business Plans that authorities were required to produce for the first time last summer and is available in the Library of the House (see Section E of the Statistical Appendix to the Business Plan).
	The quality of these initial plans varies considerably and not all authorities have been able to provide backlog figures in line with the definitions set. Government Offices however, are working closely with authorities to improve the robustness of the assessment of investment needs and expenditure plans.
	Responsibility for housing matters in Scotland and Wales rests with the Scottish and Welsh Offices.

Asbestos

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what countries ban white asbestos.

Alan Whitehead: This information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Under the European Commission Directive 1999/77/EC white asbestos is due to be banned throughout the European Union by 1 January 2005. Many member states, including the UK, have introduced the ban in advance of that date.

Asbestos

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assessment he has made of the relative risks of (a) white and (b) blue asbestos.

Alan Whitehead: In line with most scientific opinion, the Government have always taken the view that white asbestos presented a lower risk per unit of exposure than blue asbestos. However white asbestos still represents a risk and is classified as a Category 1 carcinogen by the European Union.

Asbestos

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assessment his Department has made of the cost of implementing the register of asbestos conditions from 2002 to (a) British businesses and (b) public buildings.

Alan Whitehead: The total compliance costs for the proposed new duty to manage the risk from asbestos are estimated to be 350 million for public buildings and 2.9 billion for British businesses from 2000 over the next 50 years.

Asbestos

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many prosecutions there have been in the UK in each of the last 10 years by the Health and Safety Executive, involving use of white asbestos.

Alan Whitehead: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE)'s prosecution statistics are based on the information laid by health and safety inspectors before the courts in England and Wales and on the charges preferred in Scottish courts. Each information laid or charge preferred relates to a breach of an individual legal requirement and a duty holder may be prosecuted for more than one of these breaches.
	The table sets out proceedings taken over the last five years by HSE under the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 1987, the main regulations applying to asbestos activities. Access to older data is not readily available and would require restoration of archived databases. HSE's system for recording prosecutions does not differentiate between the different types of asbestos. In this table, figures for informations laid include charges preferred in Scotland.
	
		
			  Informations laid 
		
		
			 199697 37 
			 199798 45 
			 199899 40 
			 19992000 120 
			 200001(13) 82 
		
	
	(13) provisional
	Note:
	Data is from HSE's Field Operations Directorate (FOD), Hazardous Installations Directorate (HID) Land Divisions (excluding Mines, Pipelines and Explosives) and Nuclear Safety Division (NSD) (conventional safety only)

Asbestos

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what records his Department has of asbestos-related illness linked to encapsulated asbestos cement in the last 50 years.

Alan Whitehead: The available records of asbestos- related disease are not sufficiently detailed to identify the separate effect of asbestos released from different kinds of asbestos products such as encapsulated asbestos cement.

Asbestos

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what proposals he has for increasing restrictions on white asbestos use.

Alan Whitehead: The Government have no plans to increase the current restrictions on the use of white asbestos and of products containing it, apart from the derogations contained in the Asbestos (Prohibitions) (Amendment) Regulations 1999 that will cease to have effect after 1 January 2005.

Asbestos

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will publish the scientific advice to the Health and Safety Executive on which it has based its risk assessment of white asbestos.

Alan Whitehead: The Health and Safety Executive has over the years taken account of a range of scientific evidence in reaching its view on the proper control of health risks from white asbestos exposure. Important recent elements of this evidence have been the 1985 Doll and Peto paper on the effects on health of exposure to asbestos, the Institute of Environmental Health's 1997 report on fibrous materials in the environment, and the 2000 Hodgson and Darnton paper on the quantitative risks of mesothelioma and lung cancer in relation to asbestos exposure. All have been published and copies are available in the Libraries of the House.

Asbestos

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what meetings his Department has had with representatives of building product companies or trade bodies to discuss the hazards of white asbestos.

Alan Whitehead: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) held a number of meetings with representatives of the Asbestos Information Centre, prior to formal consultation on the proposals to ban the marketing, supply and use of white asbestos in 1998. The HSE held further meetings with them following consultation. At none of the meetings were the hazards of white asbestos specifically discussed. HSE has also met a representative of the Asbestos Cement Product Producers Association in 2000 to discuss their concerns about the white asbestos ban.

Aircraft (Air Quality)

Kevin McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what guidelines are in place to monitor the air quality of commercial aircrafts arriving or departing within the United Kingdom; who regulates the effectiveness of high-efficiency particulate air filters; and if he will make a statement on the effectiveness of HEPA filters on the transmission of turberculosis.

David Jamieson: There are at present no guidelines relating to the monitoring of air quality in aircraft. There is no statutory requirement for the use of filters in aircraft ventilation systems but where such filters are used, the CAA requires that they do not adversely affect the prime functions of the aircraft systems to which they are fitted and that airlines conduct maintenance in line with the aeroplane manufacturers' instructions. According to tests carried out by a manufacturer of High Efficiency Particulate Air filters, they have been found to remove microbiological organisms with an efficiency greater than 99.999 per cent.
	The House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology in its report on air travel and health concluded that the modern aircraft cabin environment generally poses no greater risk of transmission of infection between its occupants than crowded situations elsewhereand may, indeed, be healthier than most of them.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Hunting

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if (a) private and (b) non-Governmental organisations have been given access to the Veterinary Risk Assessment report on hunting prior to its official publication; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: No one from private or non-government organisations was given access to the Veterinary Risk Assessment prior to publication although some draft recommendations emanating from the Risk Assessment were discussed with both pro and anti-hunting groups.

Hunting

Anthony D Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what types of unusual incidents hunts are expected to report when returning their certificates of compliance to her Department.

Alun Michael: Hunts would be expected to report episodes such as the disturbance of deer or other animals unrelated to the hunt or anything else unexpected which would pose a risk to the disease control requirements.

Rural Payments Agency

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact on (a) farm cash flow and (b) farmers' livelihoods in the Macclesfield constituency of delays in the (i) despatch and (ii) processing of (A) livestock and (B) South West Peak ESA scheme (1) claim forms and (2) payments from the Rural Payments Agency in Worcester; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: For some ESA cases there has been a delay in despatching claim forms because of queries that need resolution. However the majority of claim forms were sent out in September. This is about one month later than normal and was due to the restructuring of ex MAFF regions. Payments are however expected to be made within the two month Citizen Charter target.
	There has been no delay in despatching livestock claims but a number of factors, including the loss of experienced staff to foot and mouth disease (FMD), industrial action, the need to cross check claims against the FMD database to establish entitlement and the need to update computer software to reflect some changes have affected the speed of processing. Advance payments on SAPS and BSPS are on target, and advances on SPS are currently ahead of last year's performance. No advances on SCPS have yet been made but are expected to start shortly with the intention of them all being paid by the deadline.
	Farmers' cash flows and livelihoods should not therefore be significantly affected.

Rural Payments Agency

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to her answer of 17 December 2001, Ref 20948, what savings have been made since the establishment of the Rural Payments Agency.

Elliot Morley: The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) was established on 16 October 2001. By 2004 it will have implemented a major change programme that will deliver cost efficiencies in key aspects of CAP administration. During this period there will be two phases of office closures coupled with progressive delivery of changed business processes supported by modernised IT.
	The first phase of office closures will be completed by the end of February 2002. However, the remaining site rationalisation and development of new IT system are not due for completion until 2004. As a result, the full scale of savings will only be realised at the end of the change programme.

Sheep Premium

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the impact on (a) farm cash flow and (b) farmers' livelihoods of delays in the despatch of sheep annual premium to farmers who have had a partial contiguous cull of sheep as a result of foot and mouth.

Elliot Morley: Payment of Sheep Annual Premium is payable only when entitlement has been established. All claims, where entitlement was established, were paid on time.

Pesticides Tax

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer about the impact of a pesticides tax on the profitability of UK agriculture.

Elliot Morley: Proposals for a pesticides tax are not currently under discussion, pending evaluation of the success of a voluntary initiative by industry. In the 2001 budget, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer welcomed the package of voluntary measures for minimising the adverse environmental impacts of pesticides submitted by the Crop Protection Association, farming unions and other stakeholders and said that the Government wished to see it implemented nationwide as soon as possible. The 2001 pre-Budget report published on 27 November sets out the Government's latest position and the relevant paragraphs are as follows:
	Extract from 27 November 2001 pre-Budget report
	Pesticides
	7.86 Pesticide use is associated with damage to biodiversity and water contamination. The Government is committed to minimising these impacts, consistent with adequate crop protection. The statutory product approval system and the Pesticides Forum make important contributions to achieving this objective. The Government also believes that a tax on pesticides could, in conjunction with other measures, be a useful tool in addressing the environmental impact of pesticides.
	7.87 In Budget 2001 the Government welcomed the voluntary proposals from the agrochemical industry and the commitments made by various stakeholders to address these issues, and encouraged their early implementation. The voluntary package was implemented from 1 April 2001 and will run initially for five years, nationwide. It is overseen by a steering group comprising the signatories to the package and representatives of an equivalent number of environmental organisations, under an independent chairman. The Government will review progress on the package in the run up to Budget 2002, to assess whether it is delivering significant environmental benefits over and above those that would result from introducing a pesticides tax.

Sheepmeat Regime

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations the Government have made in Europe since the last meeting of the European Union's Agriculture Council for reform of the sheepmeat regime.

Elliot Morley: The Commission's proposals for reform of the sheepmeat regime have been the subject of discussion at ministerial and official levels with a number of other member states and the European Commission. The proposals were agreed by the Council of Ministers (Agriculture) on 19 December.

Foot and Mouth

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what calculations she has made of the change in the public moneys expended in the foot and mouth disease areas during the outbreak; and what that sum would have been had no outbreak occurred.

Elliot Morley: The Chancellor's pre-Budget report shows that the Government are spending an additional 2.7 billion to tackle foot and mouth disease (FMD) and its implications for the rural economy. This includes the cost in compensation paid to farmers affected by FMD and additional support to the rural economy.
	It is not possible to estimate the total public moneys that would have been spent in FMD areas in the absence of the outbreak.

Farmers' Markets

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures her Department is taking to promote consumer awareness of farmers' markets in town and city centres.

Elliot Morley: The promotion of individual farmers' markets is primarily a matter for market organisers. However, the Department has provided funding to the National Association of Farmers' Markets to help re-launch farmers' markets following the foot and mouth crisis. The Countryside Agency, which we grant aid, is also providing support to the National Association.

Biofuel Production

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she has taken to encourage biofuel production; what total oilseed production output was in each of the last 20 years for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: Figures for UK harvested production of oilseeds are as follows:
	
		
			  Thousand tonnes 
		
		
			 1984 924 
			 1985 897 
			 1986 966 
			 1987 1,323 
			 1988 1,033 
			 1989 946 
			 1990 1,207 
			 1991 1,283 
			 1992 1,213 
			 1993 1,084 
			 1994 1,243 
			 1995 1,234 
			 1996 1,415 
			 1997 1,527 
			 1998 1,566 
			 1999 1,737 
			 2000 1,157 
			 2001 (14)1,138 
		
	
	(14) Provisional
	Following the Green Fuels Challenge my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that a new duty rate for biodiesel, set at 20p per litre below the rate for Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel, is to be introduced in Budget 2002. This Department also supports solid biomass crops through the Energy Crops Scheme, part of the England Rural Development programme. This Department has recently commissioned a six-month study, on behalf of the Government-Industry Forum on non-food uses of crops, to provide an independent, comprehensive and rigorous evaluation of the comparative energy, environmental and socio-economic costs and benefits of biodiesel production in the UK. The study will compare results with those for other relevant green fuels and relevant energy saving measures.

Crop Protection Products

David Curry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures she will take to monitor the enforcement of regulations relating to the application of agricultural crop protection products for non-approved amenity uses.

Elliot Morley: All pesticides are subject to strict regulatory control and must be approved by Ministers before they can be marketed or used in the UK.
	Pesticides must be used in accordance with the approved conditions of use specified on the pesticide label, which include directions for the situations in which the pesticide may be used. Failure to comply with a condition of use is an offence and may be subject to enforcement action. The Health and Safety Executive is responsible for enforcement in respect of the professional use of pesticides in amenity situations, and will decide on any necessary action on the basis of evidence that arises.

Crop Protection Products

David Curry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she has taken to regulate the use of marker chemicals when pre-mixed with crop protection chemicals for use in amenity situations; how many prosecutions there have been from such use in each of the past five years; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: All pesticides are subject to strict regulatory control and must be approved by Ministers before they can be marketed or used in the UK.
	No pesticide may be mixed with a marker or other additive prior to sale or supply unless approval has been granted for the sale or supply of that mixed product. However following sale users may mix approved products with other chemicals, or arrange for mixing to take place on their behalf, provided they comply with all conditions governing use described on the pesticide label. An appropriate risk assessment must also be carried out prior to use. No prosecutions have been taken against users for the illegal use of mixed products.
	Guidelines regarding the mixing of pesticidesGuidelines on the Provision of Pesticide Mixing Services and Sale of Pesticide Twin Packs and Kits were issued by the Pesticides Safety Directorate on 17 August 2000. These are being reviewed and it is intended that revised guidelines will be distributed to approval holders, distributors, retailers and user groups in 2002.

Crop Protection Products

David Curry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department has taken to strengthen the role of the HSE in the enforcement of laws relating to illegal import of crop protection products for use in agriculture and horticulture.

Elliot Morley: All pesticides are subject to strict regulatory control and must be approved by Ministers before they can be marketed or used in the UK.
	The Health and Safety Executive already have extensive powers to enforce against the illegal storage or use of pesticides, including those illegally imported into the UK. Local authorities have similar powers to take enforcement action against illegal advertisement, sale or supply. Where evidence establishes that illegal activity has occurred enforcement action is taken.

Flooding

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what action is being taken to assist the Environment Agency to complete the detailed report on the flooding across the UK in October and November 2000; when these reports are expected to be completed; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  when the Environment Agency is expected to complete an assessment of the flooding in Edmonton in October 2000; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: On 20 March 2001 I announced publication of the Environment Agency's Lessons Learned report on the 2000 floods. The agency subsequently produced a series of regional reports on the flooding including one for the Thames Region which covered the flooding in Edmonton.
	Recommendation 1.4 in the Lessons Learned report was that
	The Agency will use all available information, to catalogue the flooding that took place in Autumn 2000, the local causes of flooding and how solutions or responsibility for action can be successfully attributed. The agency has been progressing this work in all the areas affected by the flooding.
	As regards flooding at Edmonton, the agency commissioned consultants in July 2001 to investigate the flooding problems associated with Salmons Brook. Their study is now expected to be completed later this month (January 2002). Options to reduce the risks that are identified will be investigated in a detailed feasibility study which is expected to be completed by the end of 2003.

Agri-environment Schemes

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been spent on agri-environment schemes in each year since 1997.

Elliot Morley: Total payments to agreement holders in the English agri-environment schemes in each financial year from 199697 are as follows:
	
		
			   million 
		
		
			 199697 44.5 
			 199798 55.4 
			 199899 64.2 
			 19992000 85.8 
			 200001 90.8 
		
	
	Data for payments made under agri-environment schemes in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland can be provided by the relevant Departments.

Flood Defence

Michael Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what allowance has been made in the revenue support grant for 200203 for flood defence for councils in the River Severn catchment area.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 9 January 2002
	Provisional Standard Spending Assessments for flood defence in 200203 were announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, on 4 December 2001 and are available in the House Library.

PRIME MINISTER

Review Body on Senior Civil Service Pay

Malcolm Savidge: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the Special report and recommendations of the Review Body on Senior Civil Service Pay.

Tony Blair: As part of the long-term programme of reform for the Civil Service, the Senior Salaries Review Body was asked in April 2001 to provide an independent assessment of the appropriate pay rates as a basis for the new Senior Civil Service pay system coming into effect in April 2002. The aims of the new pay system are to enable the Civil Service to compete more effectively to recruit and retain top managers; and to reward sustained performance and the delivery of results.
	The Government accept the Review Body's recommendations for the minima and maxima of the new ranges. The target rates recommended will also be incorporated in the new system for the best performers.
	Copies of the SSRB Special Report, along with a summary of the new SCS pay system are in the Vote Office and the Library of the House. I am grateful to the Chairman and the members of the Review Body for their work.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Trade Credits

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what was the value of debt and interest paid to the UK Government on trade credits to heavily indebted poor countries guaranteed by the UK Government in the last five years.

Nigel Griffiths: I have been asked to reply.
	During the period from 1 January 1997 to December 2001 57 million of principal and 68 million of interest was paid by heavily indebted poor countries under bilateral debt agreements resulting from defaulted trade credits.
	All but 10 million was received from only eight countriesGhana, Kenya, Yemen, Tanzania, Cameroon, Zambia, Guyana and Bolivia. Under the HIPC Initiative and the Government's 100 per cent. forgiveness policy no further payments are expected from the last five of these countries. Kenya and Yemen are deemed to have sustainable debt levels and Ghana is currently applying for HIPC debt relief.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Pension Schemes

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in Scotland receive a pension from contributions to final salary occupational pension schemes.

Ian McCartney: The available information is in the table.
	
		Number of pensioners in Scotland receiving pension from occupational pensions
		
			   Number(15) 
		
		
			 Males 434 
			 Females 251 
			  
			 Total 685 
		
	
	(15) Figures to the nearest thousand
	Note:
	The FRS does not distinguish between pensions from final salary and money purchase schemes. It also does not distinguish between those receiving occupational pensions due to their own contributions and those who are receiving survivors benefits.
	Source:
	Family Resources Survey 200001 (FRS).

Pension Schemes

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what calculations he has made of the number of persons of retirement age who have (a) one and (b) more than one (i) personal, (ii) private and (iii) occupational pension schemes; and in the case of (b) how many such schemes they have.

Ian McCartney: The information is shown in the tables. Information is drawn from the Family Resources Survey (FRS), and may be subject to a margin of error due to the size of the FRS sample and the fact that the Survey relies on self-reporting of pension income.
	Separate figures are not given for 'private pensions', because this is a generic term for any non-state pension.
	
		
			   Number 
		
		
			  (a) Individuals receiving income from one occupational or personal pension 
			 Occupational pension 3,900,000 
			 Personal pension 400,000 
			   
			  (b) Individuals receiving income from more than one occupational or personal pension  
			 Occupational pension 600,000 
			 Personal pension 50,000 
		
	
	
		
			   Individuals with two of each type Individuals with three or more of each type 
		
		
			 Occupational pensions 550,000 50,000 
			 Personal pensions 50,000 (16) 
		
	
	(16) Indicates less than 25,000
	Note:
	These figures are for individuals above State Retirement Age only. Figures for occupational pensions include individuals in receipt of a widow's pension from an occupational pension scheme. Due to sampling methods, the survey does not generate data for individuals in receipt of a widow's personal pension.
	Some individuals will be in receipt of both personal and occupational pensions.
	All figures rounded to nearest 50,000
	Because of sampling sizes and the relatively small numbers of individuals, separate figures for those with four or more pensions have not been included.
	Receipt of pension income is self-reported in FRS; figures may therefore differ slightly from those found in the Industry.
	Source:
	FRS 1999/2000

Pensioners

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will calculate the date at which a single woman of 65 years retiring today relying solely on pensions savings of 100,000 buying an indexed linked single annuity at market rates can be expected to become eligible for income support if the minimum income guarantee for pensioners continues to be linked to earnings.

Ian McCartney: The length of time that will pass before the individual in the question becomes entitled to minimum income guarantee (MIG) will depend on a number of assumptions. These assumptions are the annuity rate, the rate of price inflation and the rate of real earnings growth.
	It should be noted that the introduction of pension credit will ensure that this individual receives a direct reward for her saving. Pension credit will provide additional weekly income on top of any income derived from the annuity.
	It should also be noted that over 95 per cent. of women have some entitlement to state pension and that if this individual had entitlement to full basic state pension, entitlement to MIG would not arise for 48 years.
	Based on the assumptions of an annuity rate of 6.0 per cent. (the most favourable available on 15 November 2001), price growth of 2.5 per cent. per annum and real earnings growth of 1.5 per cent. per annum, it is estimated that a single woman of 65 years retiring solely on pension savings of 100,000 would become eligible for MIG after 16 years.

Benefits Agency Staff

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what were the staffing levels for each of the last five years in the Benefits Agency offices at (a) Elthorne road, London N19, and (b) Seven Sisters road, London N7, the number of callers per day for the equivalent period and the average waiting time.

Malcolm Wicks: This is a matter for Alexis Cleveland, Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. She will write to my hon. Friend.
	Letter from Alexis Cleveland to Jeremy Corbyn, dated 9 January 2002
	The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has asked me to respond to your recent Parliamentary Question asking, if he will state the staffing levels for each of the last five years in the Benefits Agency offices at (a) Elthorne Road London N19 and (b) Seven Sisters Road London N7, the number of callers per day for the equivalent period and the average waiting time.
	The information is not available in the format requested. Such information that is available is in the attached table.
	
		
			  1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 
		
		
			 Seven Sisters road, Finsbury Park office  
			 Average staff days per month (number) 443 377 348 379 369 
			 Average number of callers per month (number) 5,912 5,631 5,217 5,695 5,039 
			 Initial waiting time 10 minutes or less based on the average number of callers (shown as a percentage) 57 57 43 34 41 
			 Initial waiting time 30 minutes or less based on the average number of callers (shown as a percentage) 82 94 91 87 85 
			   
			 Elthorne road, Highgate office  
			 Average staff days per month (number) 315 329 304 402 427 
			 Average number of callers per month (number) 5,340 4,936 4,602 5,050 4,553 
			 Initial waiting time 10 minutes or less based on the average number of callers (shown as a percentage) 72 43 68 70 63 
			 Initial waiting time 30 minutes or less based on the average number of callers (shown as a percentage) 98 85 100 100 97

HEALTH

NHS Staff

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of national health service personnel was represented by (a) nurses, (b) doctors, (c) midwives, (d) other professions allied to medicine and (e) other employees, in the financial years (i) 199798, (ii) 199899, (iii) 19992000 and (iv) 200001.

John Hutton: Data showing the number and proportion of nurses, doctors, midwives, qualified allied health professions and other staff as at 30 September, 1997 to 2000, are shown in the table.
	
		All NHS staff, including all doctors and nurses, as at 30 September each year -- Headcount
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 
		
		
			 Total NHS Staff(17) 1,058,690 1,071,560 1,098,350 1,118,960 
			 Percentage 100 100 100 100 
			  
			 of which: 
			 Total NHS doctors 89,620 91,840 93,980 96,320 
			 Percentage 8.5 8.6 8.6 8.6 
			 GMPs (excluding GP Retainers)(18),(19) 29,390 29,700 29,990 30,250 
			 Percentage 2.8 2.8 2.7 2.7 
			 All HCHS medical and dental staff(20) 60,230 62,140 63,990 66,070 
			 Percentage 5.7 5.8 5.8 5.9 
			 of which: 
			 Total NHS Nurses(21) 550,900 556,480 565,620 574,850 
			 Percentage 52.0 51.9 51.5 51.4 
			   
			 of which: 
			 Qualified Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting Staff (including Practice Nurses) 318,860 323,460 329,640 335,950 
			 Percentage 30.1 30.2 30.0 30.0 
			   
			 of which 
			 Midwives 22,380 22,840 22,800 22,570 
			 Percentage 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.0 
			 Unqualified Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting staff(22) 231,380 232,420 234,700 238,960 
			 Percentage 21.9 21.7 21.4 21.3 
			 Qualified Allied Health Professionals 45,020 46,450 47,920 49,360 
			 Percentage 4.3 4.3 4.4 4.4 
			 Others(23) 373,140 376,790 390,820 398,430 
			 Percentage 35.2 35.2 35.6 35.6 
		
	
	(17) This figure includes GP Retainers.
	(18) GP Retainers were collected for the first time in the 1999 census, for comparability these have been excluded from GMPs.
	(19) The 1999 figure excludes 972 GP Retainers and the 2000 figure excludes 1,117 GP Retainers.
	(20) Excludes Medical Hospital Practitioners and medical Clinical Assistants, most of whom are also GPs working part-time in hospitals.
	(21) Total includes unclassified staff.
	(22) Unqualified nursing staff includes Health Care Assistants and Support staff.
	(23) Others includes administration and estates staff, ambulance staff, Health Care Assistants, Support staff, nursing, midwifery and health visiting learners, other scientific, therapeutic and technical staff, others, other practice staff and GP Retainers from 1999.
	Notes:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	Due to rounding totals may not equal sum of component parts.
	Figures exclude agency staff.
	Sources:
	Department of Health medical and dental workforce census
	Department of Health General and Personal Medical Services Statistics
	Department of Health Non-medical workforce census

Voluntary Work

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the financial value to the NHS of the voluntary work performed by (a) the Women's Royal Voluntary Service and (b) the National League of Hospital Friends in the last three years for which figures are available.

John Hutton: Information is not collected by the Department in the form requested.
	It was recently reported in Voluntary Sector magazine that the Women's Royal Voluntary Service estimates that the organisation's 100,000 plus volunteers gave around 12 million hours to helping others which they value at about 70 million during the 12 month period from 2000 to 2001. During that time volunteers delivered 9 million hot and frozen meals, opened five new and refurbished hospital trading outlets and assisted at 70 emergencies and disasters.
	The National Association of Hospital and Community Friends have advised that in their latest survey, conducted in 1999, Leagues of Hospital and Community Friends had 36,000 members who actively volunteered and contributed 8 million hours a year to the national health service. The survey also found that the leagues gift back 36 million per year to NHS hospitals. In addition to running traditional volunteer services such as shops, visiting and transport the leagues have increased their work in the community, both therapeutic and social support, and this now accounts for 40 per cent. of volunteers' activities.
	The very significant contribution made to the health service and social services by volunteers from the Women's Royal Voluntary Service and the National Association of Hospital and Community Friends complement the efforts of staff and enhance the patient and service user experience.

Cross-border Treatment

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many English NHS patients were treated in Scotland in each of the last five years.

John Hutton: Information on English residents treated in Scotland is collected by the information and statistics division of National Health Service Scotland. Information on the number of English residents receiving treatment in NHS hospitals in Scotland as either outpatients or as inpatients and day cases is shown in the table.
	Information on English residents treated in a primary care setting in Scotland is limited. Over the past five years, on average, there have been around 2,200 patients who reside in England on the lists of Scottish general practitioners. These patients may or may not have attended their GP for a consultation in that time. The average number of face to face consultations per head of population per annum in Scotland is 3.2.
	
		English residents(24) treated in NHS hospitals in Scotland
		
			 Year ending 31 March  First outpatient appointments(25),(27) Inpatients and day cases(26),(27) 
		
		
			 1998 2,049 7,048 
			 1999 2,428 7,432 
			 2000 2,185 6,991 
			 2001 2,141 6,578 
			 2002 (to date)(28) 1,319 3,750 
		
	
	(24) Includes a small number of residents in Wales and Northern Ireland.
	(25) First outpatient appointments in consultant-led clinics (SMR00). Excludes AE and genito-urinary medicine. Information on return outpatient appointments is not collected centrally by area of residence.
	(26) Discharges from acute specialties (SMR01), maternity specialties (SMR02), mental health specialties (SMR04), neonatal care for sick babies (SMR11) and long stay facilities in the specialty of geriatric medicine (SMR50). The majority (92 per cent.) of discharges are from acute specialties.
	(27) All information shown is based on episodes of care rather than individual patients. A patient with more than one episode of care in any year or across years will be counted every time they receive an episode of care.
	(28) Records held centrally at 20 December 2001. It is estimated that available figures for year ending March 2002 represent approximately 60 per cent. of total activity for the year.
	Source:
	ISD Scotland, Scottish Morbidity Records (SMRs) 00, 01, 02, 04, 11 and 50.
	Reference:
	Acute Care Information Group, 20011414.

Congestion Charges

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has made about the exemption of health visitors from congestion charges in London.

John Hutton: While supportive of the need to reduce congestion in central London and the resultant benefits to Londoners' health, a number of concerns have been raised with the mayor and Transport for London regarding the impact the congestion charging scheme will have on the ability of the NHS to provide high quality patient care.
	The London Regional Office of the Department has been working closely with Transport for London on developing a reimbursement scheme for a number of categories of staff, including health visitors and staff providing community based services, so that they are not disadvantaged in any way. The scheme is currently out for consultation until the 18 January 2002.

Nurses

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimates he has made of the number of whole time equivalent nurses who will be performing non-clinical duties with (a) the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, (b) the Commission for Health Improvement and (c) the NHS Modernisation Agency.

John Hutton: The National Institute for Clinical Excellence, the Commission for Health Improvement (CHI) and the National Health Service Modernisation Agency are responsible for improvements in quality across the NHS. Nurses are employed within these agencies to provide the frontline perspective and to influence development.
	Numbers are subject to change but there are currently two nurses employed in the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, 149 nurses employed in CHI and 51 in the Modernisation Agency.

Nurses

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many specialist TB nurses were employed (a) in the NHS and (b) in each health authority in London by the NHS in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2001.

John Hutton: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Nurses

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to ensure school nurses are paid at F grade.

John Hutton: Nurses employed in the national health service under national terms and conditions are graded according to the clinical grading definitions agreed between the management and staff sides of the Nursing and Midwifery Negotiating Council in 1988.
	Decisions concerning grading of individual posts including those of school nurses are the responsibility of local managers who, with advice from professional colleagues are in the best position to consider the work to be done and the skills needed to do it. The clinical grading definitions reflect the different levels of responsibility and clinical expertise required in different posts. It is for local employers using the agreed definitions and in the light of particular job content to grade posts according to responsibilities.
	In the advance letter promulgating the pay award for 200102 employers were reminded of their obligations to ensure all jobs are graded in accordance with the existing grading guidance.

Nurses

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if school nurses are defined by his Department as autonomous practitioners.

John Hutton: Professional standards are a matter for the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting.

General Practitioners

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what financial assistance he has planned to encourage flexible training in general practice.

John Hutton: In line with Government guidance, The General Practitioner Registrar Scheme: Vocational Training for General Medical Practice: the United Kingdom Guide, a copy of which is in the Library. Directors of Postgraduate GP Education will facilitate flexible (i.e. part-time) training for general practice wherever possible. In order to be accepted for general practice certification purposes, flexible training must be undertaken, week by week, at 60 per cent. or more of the weekly full-time training commitment and include a period (minimum one week) of full-time training in both the general practice and hospital components.

Pathology Modernisation Programme

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what basis the authorities invited to bid for the phase III pathology modernisation programme were selected.

John Hutton: Through our pathology modernisation programme, the Department is considering the appropriate model for pathology services in the light of Shifting the Balance of Power and the proposed changes to national health service structures under the NHS Reform and Health Care Professions Bill. Therefore, the aim of pathology modernisation funding in 200102 is to support up to four larger reconfiguration projects exploring the development of managed clinical networks in NHS pathology services, covering a population of 1.5 million. This year it was essential to support areas that were already advanced in planning for modernised pathology services. It was clear from existing work on the programme that 12 areas met this criterion, and they were invited to bid through a limited tender exercise.

Access Targets

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what penalties will be imposed on primary care trusts who fail to implement 48-hour access targets by March 2003.

John Hutton: Primary care trusts will be subject to performance ratings during 2002. Access and primary care will form a key target within this rating system. Rewards, through earned autonomy, targeted support or intervention will be based on performance ratings.

NHS Professionals

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what domestic publications the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency will use to advertise those contracts relating to NHS professionals.

John Hutton: The National Health Service Purchasing and Supply Agency will advertise the contracts for NHS professionals in domestic publications relevant to the particular staff sector. For instance contracts for nursing staff will be advertised in the Nursing Times and contracts for doctors in the British Medical Journal.

NHS Professionals

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether NHS trusts will be required to use NHS professionals to meet their temporary staffing needs.

John Hutton: There is an expectation that national health service professionals will be used as the provider of choice within the NHS, supported by tight contracts with our providers in the private sector.

NHS Professionals

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are being taken to inform private nursing agencies about the tendering processes attached to NHS professionals.

John Hutton: The tenders for the contracts for national health service professionals being carried out by the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency will be advertised in relevant domestic journals and in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
	The NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency is in consultation with the following trade associations that represent private nursing agencies: the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, the Federation of Independent Nursing Agencies, and the Nursing Agency Association.

NHS Professionals

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding NHS professionals will receive in financial years (a) 200102, (b) 200203 and (c) 200304.

John Hutton: National health service professionals received 4 million to support start up, 3 million in the financial year in 200102, and 3 million has been identified in 200203 to support NHS trusts through the implementation process. The service will be self- sustaining in the long-term and recoup costs directly from the NHS organisations using NHS professionals on a non-profit making basis.

NHS Professionals

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency will use the Official Journal of the European Community to advertise the regional contracts it is negotiating on behalf of NHS professionals.

John Hutton: Yes.

NHS Professionals

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the tendering process inviting private nursing agencies to agree their terms and conditions of supply to NHS professionals will be launched in the (a) Trent, (b) south east, (c) south west, (d) eastern, (e) north west and (f) northern and Yorkshire regions; and what nursing services will be covered.

John Hutton: The timetable for tendering for agency staff has not yet been finalised. It is expected that the projects for nursing staff in the south west, the south east, and the north west of England will be launched in early January and the end of February this year. Projects for the remaining regions will begin at a later date that is yet to be decided.
	The contracts will cover all grades of nurses, midwives and operating department practitioners.

Orthopaedic Surgeons

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average mean waiting times were (a) to see an orthopaedic surgeon and (b) between seeing an orthopaedic surgeon and having an operation where that was necessary in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

John Hutton: The mean average waiting times for orthopaedic patients waiting for in-patient and out-patient treatment are given in the table. Data collected on waiting times by specialty are collected quarterly. The data given are for the latest available quarter, September 2001.
	
		Mean average waiting time for first out-patient appointment/in-patient treatment, trauma and orthopaedics speciality, England
		
			 Health authority based Average (mean) waiting time 
		
		
			 Quarter: September 2001  
			 Out-patient appointment(29) (weeks) 14.35 
			 In-patient treatment(30) (months) 5.15 
		
	
	Sources:
	(29) Department of Health form QM08R
	(30) Department of Health form QF01

Racist Attacks

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many racist attacks have taken place in English (a) NHS hospitals and (b) other medical facilities, broken down by health authority in each of the last three years.

John Hutton: Information about racist attacks on staff working in the national health service is not collected centrally, but may be held at a local level by national health service employers.
	The Department conducted a survey of national health service trusts in England in 199899. The survey found that, on average, seven violent incidents were recorded each month per 1,000 staff. This is equivalent to approximately 65,000 violent incidents against NHS trust staff each year. Details of the survey can be found in Health Service Circular 1999/229: Managing Violence, Accidents and Sickness Absence in the NHS, a copy of which is in the Library.
	Figures for recorded violent incidents in 200001 are currently being analysed by the Department.

Whittington Hospital

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evaluation he has made of the costs of the proposed PFI for the Whittington hospital compared to direct Government funding; and if he will publish the information on which this analysis is made.

John Hutton: The evaluation of the proposed private finance initiative funding of the redevelopment of the Whittington hospital national health service trust compared to direct Government funding is currently being prepared by the trust and its advisers as part of the preparation of the full business case for the scheme and is not yet complete.
	All information relevant to this analysis, and the final decision to fund the project under PFI or direct Government funding, will be included within the trust's full business case. This will be made publicly available within one month of the final approval of the case, which is currently planned to be in April 2002. Only information which may breach personal privacy or is judged to be genuinely commercially sensitive will be omitted.
	Copies of the case will be provided at the trust's premises, with the chair of the Trades Unions representing staff at the trust, the local Community Health Council, the local authority, the local main public library and the Library. The trust will also place an advertisement in the local paper at the time of publication explaining that the documents are available and where they have been placed.
	This is in line with the code of practice on openness in the NHS introduced by this Government.

Head Injury Specialists

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many head injury specialists have been recruited to the NHS in each year since 1997.

John Hutton: holding answer 8 January 2002
	Neurosurgeons and neurologists deal with head injuries as part of their wider responsibilities. The table shows the number of hospital medical neuro-surgery and neurology staff, including consultants, employed by the national health service within the specified years.
	
		Hospital medical neurosurgery and neurology staff, England -- as at 30 September
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 
		
		
			 All neurosurgery staff 360 370 370 410 
			 of which: 
			 Consultants 130 130 140 140 
			  
			 All neurology staff 640 640 660 690 
			 of which: 
			 Consultants 280 300 300 330 
		
	
	Source:
	Department of Health medical and dental Workforce Census

Doctors (Disciplinary Action)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many doctors have been (a) disciplined and (b) sacked for (i) drug-taking offences and (ii) stealing medical drugs in each year since 1997.

John Hutton: holding answer 8 January 2002
	The Department does not routinely collect information regarding the disciplinary proceedings carried out in national health service organisations. Disciplinary action is a matter for local employers. NHS employers have a responsibility to investigate alleged breaches of acceptable standards by staff, and to consider whether any disciplinary action is required as a result of such allegations.

NHS Staff Files

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health under what circumstances an NHS trust can withhold the employment history of staff seeking employment in another part of the NHS.

John Hutton: All national health service employers are expected to carry out thorough pre-employment checks on all staff they employ. The checks include taking up references which must be accurate and truthful.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Radio Advertising

Diane Abbott: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much the COI spent on radio advertising in the last year; what percentage of this was spent on black minority ethnic media advertising; and what the five main campaigns that the COI financed that involved radio advertising were.

Christopher Leslie: The Central Office of Information undertook no radio advertising on its own behalf in the last year.

Special Advisers

Michael Fallon: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many complaints have been reported in his Department under paragraph 11 of the Civil Service Code since 13 May 1999; and how many of them related to special advisers.

Christopher Leslie: The procedures for making complaints under the civil service code are set in the Department's staff handbook. Civil servants are encouraged, in the first instance, to raise complaints made under paragraph 11 of the civil service code with their line manager. If for any reason this is not felt to be possible, perhaps because the line manager is part of the complaint, individuals may take their complaint to a nominated official (or officials). It is not possible to provide a comprehensive figure for the number of complaints made within this Department under paragraph 11 of the code as there is no requirement for managers to report to the centre details of complaints which are resolved within the management line.

Civil Service

Linda Gilroy: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what delegations and authorisations have been made in 2001 under the Civil Service (Management Functions) Act 1992; to whom they were made; and what were the main conditions attached to them.

Christopher Leslie: Since the last report to Parliament, 6 February 2001, Official Report, column 489W, new delegations/authorisations have been made to the Food Standards Agency and the Postal Services Commission from 1 April and 1 May 2001 respectively. These were subsequently subsumed within a later delegation/ authorisation which was necessary to reflect the machinery of government changes following the general election. Ministers, certain bodies and office holders in charge of Departments 1 were given delegated authority from 1 September 2001 under the Civil Service (Management Functions) Act 1992 by that delegation/ authorisation to:
	(a) prescribe the qualifications (so far as they relate to age, knowledge, ability, professional attainment, aptitude, potential, health and coping with the demands of the job) for the appointment of home civil servants (with the exception of the Fast Stream Development Programme) in their respective Departments or bodies; and
	(b) determine in respect of home civil servants in their respective Departments or bodies the number and grading of posts outside the senior civil service, and the terms and conditions of employment in so far as they relate to the following:
	(i) classification of staff, with the exception of the senior civil service;
	(ii) remuneration, with the exception of the senior civil service;
	(iii) allowances;
	(iv) expenses;
	(v) holidays, hours of work and attendance;
	(vi) part-time and other working arrangements;
	(vii) performance and promotion
	(viii) retirement age and redundancy;
	(ix) re-deployment of staff within the home civil service.
	In some cases, where the Minister for the civil service is statutorily required to give consent to terms and conditions of service for staff appointed by statutory bodies or office holders, it was effected by waiving that requirement, subject to the condition attached to delegation/authorisation.
	The delegation/authorisation was subject to the condition that recipients comply with the provisions of the Civil Service Management Code as amended from time to time. Copies of the Civil Service Management Code are available in the Library of the House. All previous delegations and authorisations made under the Civil Service (Management Functions) Act 1992 (other than those relating to the Arbitration, Conciliation Advisory Service, the Health and Safety Executive, the National Assembly for Wales and the Scottish Administration) were revoked with effect from 1 September 2001.
	1 The statutory bodies and office holders are:
	Commissioners of Inland Revenue
	Chief Charity Commissioner
	Commissioners of Customs and Excise
	Crown Estate Commissioners
	Director General of Fair Trading
	Director of National Savings
	Director of Passenger Rail Franchising
	Director General of Telecommunications
	Director General of Water Services
	Director of Public Prosecutions
	Director of the Serious Fraud Office
	Food Standards Agency
	Gas and Electricity Marketing Authority
	Government Actuary
	Head of the Registry of Friendly Societies, being the Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies and the First Commissioner of the Building Societies Commission
	International Rail Regulator
	Postal Services Commission
	Public Works Loan Commissioners
	Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration and Health Service Commissioners
	Rail Regulator.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Departmental Staff

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many employees of (a) his Department and (b) agencies sponsored by his Department work in (i) London, (ii) areas benefiting from EU Objective 1 status, (iii) areas with Objective 2 status and (iv) other areas.

Keith Bradley: holding answer 19 November 2001
	I apologise for the delay in answering this question. Information on permanent serving staff working in London, areas benefiting from European Union (EU) Objectives 1 and 2 status and other areas is provided in the table.
	
		
			 Area London EU Objective 1 areas EU Objective 2 areas Other areas Total 
		
		
			 Home Office 8,532 1,172 3,350 109 13,163 
			   
			 Agencies:  
			 FSS(31) 753  1,624  2,377 
			 UKPA(32) 540 597 1,398 121 2,656 
			 Prison Service 5,947 770 34,569 796 42,082 
			  
			 Total 15,772 2,539 40,941 1,026 60,278 
		
	
	(31) Forensic Science Service
	(32) United Kingdom Passport Agency

Regulation

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many regulations his Department has proposed to Parliament since June; what regulatory impact assessments have been made for those regulations his Department has implemented in 2001; and what plans his Department has to reduce the number of regulations affecting small businesses.

Keith Bradley: We have proposed to Parliament since June some 31 statutory instruments and three Bills. Regulatory Impact Assessments have been made for the Proceeds of Crime Bill and the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Bill and these have been lodged in the Library.
	In our forthcoming regulatory reform action plan we have no specific plans for reducing the number of regulations affecting small business. Where Home Office legislation or regulations affect business, we aim to proceed through dialogue and consultation in order to ensure that any effects on business are proportionate.

Terrorism

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the projects planned under the Ghent Statement on Terrorism, Point 5, (a) to store evaluations of (i) risks, (ii) alert and (iii) intervention, (b) for the prevention of chemical and biological attack and (c) on the appointment of a European Co-ordinator for Civil Protection Measures.

David Blunkett: I wrote to hon. Members on 9 November 2001 setting out the comprehensive review of arrangements for protecting the public that I am leading. I explained that a ministerially led sub-group was reviewing contingency and other arrangements to protect the United Kingdom against the effects of a terrorist attack using chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) means but that it is not sensible for me to elaborate on all of the arrangements we are putting in place.
	More generally, a short-term action plan was agreed by the Directors General of Civil protection and this called for, among other things:
	The identification of rapid response teams and setting up a group of experts available 24 hours a day, to offer advice;
	Enhancement of the existing network of 24-hour contact points to handle any request for or offer of assistance; and
	Gathering information on serum, vaccines, antibiotics and availability of hospital beds for those seriously affected.
	Additionally, a workshop was set up under the Belgian Presidency for 17 and 18 December 2001. That brought together experts in this field who will draw up proposals for action plans for the medium and longer term.
	The Civil Protection Co-ordinator has yet to be appointed. Members states await details of the duties and responsibilities proposed for this post and whether these are to be purely administrative or whether an operational role is envisaged. The question of where the Co-ordinator should be located and what the reporting arrangements should be have also yet to be finalised.

Media Briefings (Race Riots)

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if his Department (a) briefed and (b) made copies of the reports available to the media on inner city riots and urban race relations before they were published on 11 December.

David Blunkett: The information is as follows:
	(a) I gave a broad interview to The Independent on Sunday newspaper on Friday 7 December 2001 on the subject of citizenship. Nothing in the article had not already been said or written by me, including in the publication of my book 'Politics and Progress' on 26 September 2001. The resulting article provoked considerable interest from the media particularly those looking to associate issues arising from this interview with the publication of reports into the summer disturbances, due a few days later. To ensure people clearly understood my position on this and in response to media inquiries, the press office gave a general explanation of how the subject of citizenship was reflected in reports into the disturbances.
	(b) No copies of the reports were made available to the media before they were published. The first time media had access to the reports produced by the Home Office was when they attended a press briefing on the morning of publication. I did not make my speech in Birmingham until 11.30 am to ensure that this did not pre-empt publication of the reports.

Prison Service

Paul Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what results were achieved by the Prison Service on each of its key performance indicators in each prison between April and October.

Beverley Hughes: Provisional key performance indicator (KPI) results for the period April-October 2001 are shown in the table. The overcrowding KPI is formulated in terms of overall Prison Service results and is not applicable to individual prisons.
	Figures for cost per place and cost per prisoner reflect establishment costs only and do not include headquarters' overheads. Data are expressed in resource terms. These figures are not comparable with the overall Prison Service cost per place and cost per prisoner KPIs (which include headquarters' overheads).
	Private prisons are not required to submit sickness or minority ethnic staffing data. The proportion of minority ethnic staff data relates to September 2001.
	
		
			 Prison name Escapes Assault rate (Percentage) Random mandatory drug testing rate (Percentage) Purposeful activity(33) Average days lost to staff sickness Cost per place Cost per prisoner 
		
		
			 Acklington 0 1.8 16.1 23.6 11.2 15,493 16,207 
			 Albany 0 2.3 0.0 25.3 10.9 20,909 21,112 
			 Altcourse 0 14.9 10.1 33.7  57,272 44,272 
			 Ashfield 0 70.8 16.5 29.0  35,712 38,968 
			 Ashwell 0 1.8 8.3 32.1 12.7 15,357 19,716 
			 Askham Grange 0 2.8 3.5 41.8 8.2 20,202 21,629 
			 Aylesbury 0 17.8 5.8 17.2 21.1 25,594 30,856 
			 Bedford 0 10.7 16.8 21.3 20.1 22,238 19,656 
			 Belmarsh 0 14.6 13.6 11.1 23.3 35,860 34,286 
			 Birmingham 0 11.1 17.0 18.7 18.2 22,138 19,195 
			 Blakenhurst 0 11.7 28.2 19.8 5.6 22,552 17,477 
			 Blantyre House 0 0.0 3.8 50.3 9.4 20,777 21,520 
			 Blundeston 0 3.3 10.1 25.6 7.9 22,947 23,665 
			 Brinsford 0 50.9 10.7 27.6 9.2 15,897 16,932 
			 Bristol 0 11.8 12.6 20.7 16.6 34,068 30,171 
			 Brixton 1 13.2 8.6 16.6 27.4 29,492 24,850 
			 Brockhill 0 28.2 6.5 16.5 22.4 30,515 33,295 
			 Buckley Hall 0 3.2 20.5 31.9 14.9 17,795 16,446 
			 Bullingdon 0 7.2 15.0 13.7 11.4 19,125 16,761 
			 Bullwood Hall 0 37.9 8.8 26.8 16.1 22,667 24,348 
			 Camp Hill 0 4.5 13.9 22.5 12.1 20,846 19,006 
			 Canterbury 0 4.3 12.6 17.9 16.4 30,876 21,923 
			 Cardiff 0 7.3 25.6 21.2 13.2 23,511 19,588 
			 Castington 0 69.3 7.2 24.8 16.4 27,963 37,611 
			 Channings Wood 0 1.8 6.5 33.8 13.2 18,581 18,857 
			 Chelmsford 0 14.0 16.1 20.0 13.0 25,057 24,813 
			 Coldingley 0 1.9 14.3 39.0 8.7 21,253 21,740 
			 Cookham Wood 0 24.3 3.0 22.1 16.5 28,475 23,021 
			 Dartmoor 0 6.0 2.1 21.4 12.5 20,831 24,050 
			 Deerbolt 0 11.2 6.1 21.8 9.3 20,098 24,948 
			 Doncaster 1 9.9 11.2 20.1  28,169 20,268 
			 Dorchester 0 11.1 19.1 16.4 10.4 31,219 23,117 
			 Dovegate 0 8.2 8.1 31.6  (34) (34) 
			 Dover 0 18.5 17.0 27.7 16.5 21,211 30,115 
			 Downview 0 0.0 4.9 26.7 19.1 20,337 26,296 
			 Drake Hall 0 1.5 12.8 36.4 10.7 16,147 22,333 
			 Durham 0 11.8 13.6 20.7 12.0 33,937 31,449 
			 East Sutton Park 0 0.0 3.0 43.3 14.9 21,396 21,560 
			 Eastwood Park 0 20.8 8.4 20.1 25.7 21,888 20,601 
			 Elmley 0 6.2 11.8 19.4 11.1 18,910 15,766 
			 Erlestoke 0 0.0 17.7 27.7 14.7 18,777 19,224 
			 Everthorpe 0 3.0 15.7 26.9 11.1 17,756 16,829 
			 Exeter 0 10.0 19.1 23.4 14.4 30,530 20,442 
			 Featherstone 0 2.9 11.9 24.2 15.5 20,434 20,847 
			 Feltham 1 42.0 13.3 27.0 15.7 20,818 27,236 
			 Ford 0 0.0 7.5 40.4 14.7 12,019 15,496 
			 Forest Bank 0 16.2 20.0 21.0  26,981 27,622 
			 Foston Hall 0 11.4 2.4 26.7 8.6 25,302 27,628 
			 Frankland 0 3.5 9.3 21.5 10.8 36,144 37,102 
			 Full Sutton 0 2.6 6.6 17.9 11.2 37,340 38,339 
			 Garth 0 4.0 15.2 24.5 14.9 20,066 21,175 
			 Gartree 0 2.4 4.8 30.4 10.2 23,377 30,157 
			 Glen Parva 0 19.4 10.8 18.0 9.0 24,010 20,717 
			 Gloucester 0 7.1 12.9 22.6 17.1 30,060 26,656 
			 Grendon 3 0.0 5.9 36.1 17.5 18,898 21,519 
			 Guys Marsh 3 5.8 14.7 22.7 14.0 15,685 15,100 
			 Haslar 0 1.1 0.0 16.6 15.3 16,900 18,061 
			 Hatfield 0 3.0 14.9 37.7 7.5 22,712 23,947 
			 Haverigg 0 3.2 18.9 32.2 10.4 16,453 17,047 
			 Hewell Grange 0 0.0 12.4 43.0 7.9 14,702 17,469 
			 High Down 0 9.6 11.2 16.3 15.1 25,532 23,138 
			 Highpoint 0 10.1 13.7 18.8 10.5 18,991 19,920 
			 Hindley 0 14.7 11.8 19.2 19.9 23,058 26,570 
			 Hollesley Bay 0 36.6 8.7 39.2 12.5 16,819 24,098 
			 Holloway 0 19.9 11.8 20.7 24.1 38,406 40,574 
			 Holme House 0 3.3 10.8 16.1 9.5 17,700 17,610 
			 Hull 0 13.6 6.6 21.8 7.1 21,759 24,187 
			 Huntercombe 0 63.2 15.5 25.8 18.1 25,528 27,994 
			 Kingston 0 0.0 8.8 24.4 15.8 23,800 25,318 
			 Kirkham 0 0.7 17.8 44.4 14.2 18,117 22,107 
			 Kirklevington 0 0.0 0.8 53.3 6.3 15,188 15,830 
			 Lancaster 0 4.6 9.2 25.5 12.3 22,609 24,101 
			 Lancaster Farms 0 15.9 3.7 23.4 13.9 15,318 15,327 
			 Latchmere House 0 0.0 1.6 63.2 10.2 14,813 16,874 
			 Leeds 0 10.4 18.8 18.9 17.6 30,135 18,949 
			 Leicester 0 9.6 23.1 21.9 11.8 36,192 23,351 
			 Lewes 1 8.6 31.9 17.6 14.1 19,494 20,604 
			 Leyhill 0 0.0 10.4 37.9 12.7 19,924 22,241 
			 Lincoln 0 9.9 9.6 18.9 10.7 28,829 26,065 
			 Lindholme 1 1.2 11.8 26.9 9.2 23,081 25,052 
			 Littlehey 0 2.5 12.0 23.7 16.3 16,329 16,453 
			 Liverpool 0 4.1 12.5 18.9 14.3 20,659 19,112 
			 Long Lartin 0 4.3 9.3 18.2 11.2 32,141 44,187 
			 Low Newton 0 19.2 14.4 24.5 11.9 29,389 27,381 
			 Lowdham Grange 1 0.4 11.0 26.6  29,795 30,673 
			 Maidstone 0 1.8 4.5 21.1 13.8 18,157 27,267 
			 Manchester 0 5.8 10.7 19.7 17.5 28,188 23,746 
			 Moorland 0 10.4 4.1 25.3 13.1 20,042 19,504 
			 Morton Hall 0 3.0 2.0 31.6 10.0 25,363 28,477 
			 Mount 0 3.8 8.6 19.9 10.0 16,077 15,679 
			 New Hall 1 32.8 7.9 23.5 14.5 24,389 22,439 
			 North Sea Camp 0 0.0 16.9 42.1 11.0 15,910 19,482 
			 Northallerton 0 10.7 8.5 22.0 14.9 34,185 27,103 
			 Norwich 0 17.4 18.9 19.2 11.3 24,306 19,174 
			 Nottingham 0 6.9 18.5 17.0 9.4 21,896 20,563 
			 Onley 0 47.4 3.7 17.3 19.3 13,127 14,695 
			 Parc 0 8.9 11.2 28.0  38,587 35,850 
			 Parkhurst 0 13.9 2.6 20.6 13.7 25,613 29,505 
			 Pentonville 0 11.5 21.1 16.1 15.7 24,028 18,723 
			 Portland 0 23.1 6.4 24.2 12.6 14,960 15,641 
			 Preston 0 10.5 15.0 21.5 12.0 29,330 22,765 
			 Ranby 0 3.5 7.6 24.5 13.4 17,383 17,373 
			 Reading 0 18.1 8.8 25.3 16.7 32,249 28,598 
			 Risley 0 2.8 18.8 25.0 15.1 19,305 19,808 
			 Rochester 0 18.5 3.8 23.1 13.7 19,940 25,235 
			 Rye Hill 0 6.5 6.6 29.0  21,952 22,810 
			 Send 0 11.1 10.4 33.0 18.5 20,271 20,633 
			 Shepton Mallet 0 0.0 9.8 23.6 7.3 23,383 28,923 
			 Shrewsbury 0 4.7 9.5 25.5 14.1 34,832 19,612 
			 Stafford 0 5.3 22.2 26.6 13.7 16,134 16,388 
			 Standford Hill 0 0.0 9.4 40.2 10.5 18,416 20,895 
			 Stocken 0 2.4 16.1 23.4 7.7 15,775 15,304 
			 Stoke Heath 0 47.6 2.7 24.8 19.1 14,673 17,319 
			 Styal 0 22.7 15.2 25.9 15.9 25,745 24,626 
			 Sudbury 0 0.7 7.6 41.4 7.6 14,835 15,376 
			 Swaleside 0 5.5 16.5 24.2 14.3 17,011 17,174 
			 Swansea 0 1.6 18.3 26.7 11.1 28,393 33,735 
			 Swinfen Hall 0 20.9 0.5 28.6 7.9 21,734 22,353 
			 Thorn Cross 0 7.0 13.2 43.2 10.2 16,910 24,086 
			 Usk 0 0.5 2.6 38.3 8.3 26,221 20,233 
			 Verne 0 0.9 2.1 28.1 14.7 16,775 16,405 
			 Wakefield 0 4.0 1.4 18.1 12.3 25,910 34,729 
			 Wandsworth 0 6.9 7.9 17.2 19.7 21,165 18,349 
			 Wayland 0 2.7 4.5 21.5 7.7 15,511 15,401 
			 Wealstun 1 1.7 12.7 32.8 11.6 16,309 16,941 
			 Weare 0 1.4 12.3 19.0 13.4 17,841 18,994 
			 Wellingborough 0 0.3 12.4 27.7 13.4 17,009 17,661 
			 Werrington 0 53.2 6.1 33.4 12.3 42,586 45,799 
			 Wetherby 0 34.5 4.7 26.9 14.5 22,297 24,851 
			 Whatton 0 0.0 2.1 29.5 8.9 15,116 15,470 
			 Whitemoor 0 10.6 10.8 19.9 20.5 41,181 54,360 
			 Winchester 0 7.7 17.2 18.3 13.7 26,056 19,635 
			 Wolds 0 5.2 3.2 28.4  27,023 24,540 
			 Woodhill 0 10.2 14.7 16.1 17.1 29,696 30,714 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 0 7.2 18.2 19.5 19.1 18,884 22,500 
			 Wymott 0 1.5 7.8 28.0 14.1 18,383 18,901 
		
	
	
		
			 Prison name Basic skills awards: literacy Basic skills awards: numeracy Key word skills Total offending behaviour programmes Sex offender treatment programmes Proportion of ethnic minority staff (Percentage) 
		
		
			 Acklington 56 77 229 25 0 0.5 
			 Albany 15 7 274 50 4 0.0 
			 Altcourse 42 37 0 0 0  
			 Ashfield 0 0 0 0 0  
			 Ashwell 145 118 103 29 0 1.3 
			 Askham Grange 27 31 131 0 0 0.0 
			 Aylesbury 2 6 78 15 0 4.7 
			 Bedford 35 26 18 10 0 1.7 
			 Belmarsh 27 26 139 7 0 7.2 
			 Birmingham 46 20 18 7 7 11.9 
			 Blakenhurst 35 62 0 20 0 2.3 
			 Blantyre House 17 10 77 0 0 2.9 
			 Blundeston 35 19 154 0 0 2.1 
			 Brinsford 0 0 469 0 0 6.3 
			 Bristol 30 22 351 35 0 1.9 
			 Brixton 7 4 27 23 0 19.1 
			 Brockhill 6 0 82 0 0 4.9 
			 Buckley Hall 31 41 29 29 0 3.5 
			 Bullingdon 61 100 115 34 0 2.4 
			 Bullwood Hall 60 10 4 10 0 3.2 
			 Camp Hill 51 45 362 0 0 0.4 
			 Canterbury 30 15 17 0 0 1.0 
			 Cardiff 121 118 50 19 0 1.5 
			 Castington 21 9 1171 0 0 0.0 
			 Channings Wood 115 93 429 60 16 0.3 
			 Chelmsford 15 5 34 26 0 3.4 
			 Coldingley 44 62 670 34 0 2.0 
			 Cookham Wood 31 3 66 17 0 2.1 
			 Dartmoor 82 56 405 40 0 1.1 
			 Deerbolt 98 78 988 23 0 0.4 
			 Doncaster 41 7 0 0 0  
			 Dorchester 15 16 191 18 0 0.6 
			 Dovegate 0 0 0 0 0  
			 Dover 4 5 107 6 0 1.9 
			 Downview 60 38 287 19 0 3.3 
			 Drake Hall 57 27 112 15 0 1.3 
			 Durham 44 16 404 37 0 0.4 
			 East Sutton Park 6 12 56 0 0 1.6 
			 Eastwood Park 35 23 405 9 0 1.8 
			 Elmley 95 33 0 66 0 1.8 
			 Erlestoke 19 7 291 6 0 0.5 
			 Everthorpe 81 51 52 23 0 0.4 
			 Exeter 30 67 103 27 0 0.7 
			 Featherstone 48 46 499 10 0 3.2 
			 Feltham 61 41 10 5 0 14.0 
			 Ford 67 46 245 15 0 1.8 
			 Forest Bank 8 19 138 16 0  
			 Foston Hall 13 12 111 16 0 2.7 
			 Frankland 37 21 336 31 3 0.4 
			 Full Sutton 11 6 153 12 4 0.4 
			 Garth 35 13 52 0 0 0.5 
			 Gartree 39 45 184 1 0 1.1 
			 Glen Parva 89 34 680 17 0 4.0 
			 Gloucester 27 18 87 0 0 0.9 
			 Grendon 31 14 451 0 0 2.8 
			 Guys Marsh 51 39 637 34 0 0.4 
			 Haslar 1 0 0 0 0 1.2 
			 Hatfield 25 25 449 17 0 0.0 
			 Haverigg 33 30 53 0 0 0.3 
			 Hewell Grange 42 31 0 0 0 1.2 
			 High Down 17 6 321 68 15 9.2 
			 Highpoint 66 45 10 27 0 1.2 
			 Hindley 34 42 818 15 0 1.8 
			 Hollesley Bay 20 12 18 0 0 0.6 
			 Holloway 32 26 66 8 0 25.6 
			 Holme House 79 63 1,672 28 0 0.6 
			 Hull 72 40 0 12 2 1.2 
			 Huntercombe 4 0 131 0 0 3.6 
			 Kingston 17 16 18 23 0 0.7 
			 Kirkham 23 26 19 0 0 0.0 
			 Kirklevington 40 40 0 0 0 0.0 
			 Lancaster 19 1 252 9 0 0.6 
			 Lancaster Farms 17 7 389 32 0 0.3 
			 Latchmere House 14 0 0 0 0 6.5 
			 Leeds 37 22 296 7 0 3.2 
			 Leicester 56 25 395 10 0 3.3 
			 Lewes 20 7 40 0 0 3.1 
			 Leyhill 47 50 654 43 14 0.0 
			 Lincoln 56 59 115 26 0 0.6 
			 Lindholme 52 41 137 18 0 0.3 
			 Littlehey 103 71 198 30 0 1.7 
			 Liverpool 86 42 133 17 0 0.8 
			 Long Lartin 56 22 69 22 0 1.5 
			 Low Newton 27 11 0 20 0 0.4 
			 Lowdham Grange 3 0 0 0 0  
			 Maidstone 106 56 106 33 8 2.1 
			 Manchester 52 33 13 35 8 2.3 
			 Moorland 115 94 2,559 35 0 1.5 
			 Morton Hall 0 0 16 0 0 0.7 
			 Mount 60 40 486 9 0 3.9 
			 New Hall 81 31 361 17 0 0.7 
			 North Sea Camp 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 
			 Northallerton 34 18 14 0 0 0.0 
			 Norwich 62 60 82 39 0 1.2 
			 Nottingham 25 17 242 0 0 3.3 
			 Onley 56 57 482 31 0 3.0 
			 Parc 12 36 0 9 0  
			 Parkhurst 9 5 97 46 0 0.6 
			 Pentonville 35 37 72 78 0 25.0 
			 Portland 41 14 223 44 0 0.9 
			 Preston 30 20 137 0 0 1.3 
			 Ranby 28 31 23 75 0 1.8 
			 Reading 0 0 0 0 0 3.1 
			 Risley 52 58 0 10 0 1.0 
			 Rochester 20 15 75 18 8 2.0 
			 Rye Hill 0 0 0 0 0  
			 Send 65 1 0 0 0 2.3 
			 Shepton Mallet 20 22 89 10 0 0.7 
			 Shrewsbury 23 26 48 19 0 1.5 
			 Stafford 127 83 146 28 0 0.6 
			 Standford Hill 15 10 25 26 0 0.5 
			 Stocken 41 47 633 8 0 1.4 
			 Stoke Heath 39 35 778 14 0 2.5 
			 Styal 37 29 0 16 0 4.0 
			 Sudbury 36 11 248 20 0 2.7 
			 Swaleside 29 33 94 69 0 2.9 
			 Swansea 35 40 242 42 0 0.4 
			 Swinfen Hall 18 8 362 40 0 1.7 
			 Thorn Cross 28 6 278 85 0 0.9 
			 Usk 60 64 59 71 41 0.5 
			 Verne 17 24 28 0 0 0.7 
			 Wakefield 25 24 286 43 8 1.1 
			 Wandsworth 40 68 91 16 0 13.4 
			 Wayland 70 73 10 45 9 0.4 
			 Wealstun 145 94 402 9 0 1.0 
			 Weare 32 15 253 0 0 1.0 
			 Wellingborough 49 38 178 35 0 2.2 
			 Werrington 13 15 0 0 0 0.7 
			 Wetherby 13 14 0 15 0 1.2 
			 Whatton 51 35 245 41 11 0.7 
			 Whitemoor 20 9 235 20 0 1.9 
			 Winchester 30 11 48 33 0 0.6 
			 Wolds 0 0 0 16 0  
			 Woodhill 30 14 169 16 1 3.6 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 143 72 248 19 0 17.0 
			 Wymott 54 18 241 50 5 0.7 
		
	
	(33) Hours per prisoner per week
	(34) Cost per place and cost per prisoner data for HMP Dovegate are unavailable

EU Extradition Warrants

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the EU agreement on extradition warrants will take effect in each country of the EU.

Bob Ainsworth: Article 27 of the Council Framework Decision on the European arrest warrant and the surrender procedures between member states requires member states to take the necessary measures to comply with it by 31 December 2003. Article 27 also provides that the Framework Decision can come into force between two member states on a bilateral basis, once they have made the necessary declaration.

EU Extradition Warrants

David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which countries do not deport their own nationals to the UK under existing extradition treaties but will be obliged to do so under the common European arrest warrant proposals.

Bob Ainsworth: Of the European countries to whom the European arrest warrant proposals will apply Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Luxembourg and Norway will not currently extradite their own nationals under any circumstances. Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden will do so on a discretionary basis and attach varying degrees of conditions to doing so. The Republic of Ireland and Italy will extradite their own nationals provided there is reciprocity. The United Kingdom attaches no such conditions to the extradition of British citizens.
	Under the Framework Decision on the European arrest warrant, it will no longer be possible for a country to refuse to extradite an individual on the grounds that he or she is an own national. The one exception to this is Austria whose executing judicial authorities will be permitted to refuse the enforcement of a European arrest warrant if the requested person is an Austrian citizen and if the act for which the European arrest warrant has been issued is not punishable under Austrian law until such time as Austria has modified its basic law. They are required to do this under the framework agreement by 31 December 2008.

Staff Numbers

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were employed in his Department in each of the last four years.

David Blunkett: The available information for 1 April 2001 was published by the Cabinet Office on 8 November 2001. Figures for the previous three years are set out in Civil Service Statistics for 2000 which is available in the Library.
	For ease of reference, the available data are set out in the table. The figures given are full-time equivalents.
	
		
			 Home Office area 1 April 1998 1 April 1999 1 April 2000 1 April 2001(35) 
		
		
			 Home Office main (excluding agencies) 8,070 7,710 9,270 13,020 
			 Fire Service College 250 190 180 (36)190 
			 Forensic Science Service 1,240 1,640 1,780 2,190 
			 UKPA(37) 1,280 1,250 1,320 2,270 
			 HM Prison Service 39,360 38,750 40,560 41,490 
			  
			 Total 50,200 49,540 53,110 59,160 
		
	
	(35) 1 April 2001 figures come from the Cabinet Office National Statistics briefing published on 8 November 2001.
	(36) Most of the increase in the non-agency Home Office is as a result of expansion within the Immigration and Nationality Directorate.
	(37) United Kingdom Passport Agency.
	Note:
	The April figures include some staff (like those of the Fire Service College) who later moved from the Home Office in the machinery of Government transfers of 8 June 2001
	Source:
	Civil Service Statistics 2000

Departmental Expenditure Limit

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the reasons for the difference between the final voted departmental expenditure limit and provisional outturn for financial year 200001, as listed in the Treasury document, Public Expenditure 200001: Provisional Outturn, for Vote IV, Home Office and Charity Commission, subcategory 1 Home Office administration, police, probation, immigration and other services, England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

David Blunkett: Full details of outturn against 200001 voted provision will be published in the appropriation accounts to be presented to the House of Commons by 31 January. The departmental resource account on an accruals basis will also be presented to the House of Commons before 31 January. Updated estimates of the outturn for Departmental Expenditure Limits in 200001 on an accruals basis were published in the 2001 pre-Budget report (Cm 5318), Table B16.

Anti-terrorism Legislation

Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the costs for UK communication and internet service providers in storing data required under Part II of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001.

David Blunkett: The Regulatory Impact Assessment for the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 is published on the Home Office website. Further consideration of additional costs which may be incurred will take place during consultation with communications service providers.

Anti-terrorism Legislation

Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what volume of data he expects internet service providers and communication service providers to retain under Part II of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001.

David Blunkett: The type of data to be held and the retention period will be determined in consultation with service providers and the security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies. This will in turn determine the volume of data to be retained.

Anti-terrorism Legislation

Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to ensure effective cross-border co-operation on data retention periods and disclosure under the Code of Practice on the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001.

David Blunkett: We have had discussions with our European and other international counterparts on communications data retention in various fora including the G8, the European Union and informal bilaterals, and will continue to do so.
	The Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 does not cover disclosure of communications data, which is provided for by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

Anti-terrorism Legislation

Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects discussion on the Code of Practice under Part II of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 to be completed.

David Blunkett: We aim to publish a draft communications data retention code of practice after consultation so as to allow a three-month period of public consultation before laying the code before Parliament before the summer recess.

Anti-terrorism Legislation

Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if data stored outside the UK, by UK companies, will be covered by the Code of Practice on the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001.

David Blunkett: The communications data retention provisions in the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 apply to communications providers providing a telecommunications service in the United Kingdom wherever the data are retained. The full practical considerations will be examined during the consultation on the code of practice and agreements, in partnership with the industry.

Internet and Communication Service Providers

Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he next intends to meet representatives of the internet and communication service providers industry; and if this meeting will include smaller companies.

David Blunkett: Officials are now beginning consultation with industry contacts. Service providers of all sizes will have the opportunity to make individual representations, both while the code is being prepared and during consultation.
	At an appropriate juncture, when discussions have proceeded to a point where this would be constructive, there will, as always, be an opportunity for the industry to meet with Ministers.

Anti-drugs Strategy

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of whether the targets set in the 10-year anti-drugs strategy will be achieved by 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: We are currently reviewing progress against all the Drugs Strategy targets to ensure that we still have the right balance and focus. We have made good progress in establishing programmes to drive forward the Strategy and in delivering our short-term goals. Drug use in the general population remains stable with some significant reductions in the proportion of young people aged 1619 taking drugs, although there has been a small increase in the proportion of 16 to 24-year-olds reporting cocaine use.
	We know we need to be even more effective at tackling the harm caused by Class A drugs. That is why, as he indicated in his evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee on 23 October 2001, the Home Secretary is seeking advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs on their assessment for reclassifying cannabis from Class B to Class C. We are also implementing a series of harm minimisation measures, in partnership with the Department of Health, such as the publication of an action plan to reduce drug-related deaths.

Older People

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out for each of the conclusions in section 6.4 of the Performance and Innovation Unit report, Winning the Generation Game, (a) what progress his Department has made and (b) what future plans his Department has for acting on them; and if he will set out against each of the conclusions the targets and deadlines that have been set.

David Blunkett: holding answer 19 December 2001
	The Home Office is committed to equality of opportunity for all staff, and our policies are designed to avoid unfair discrimination on any irrelevant grounds, including age. We are reviewing those policies in the context of the Performance and Innovation Unit recommendations, as follows:
	Conclusion 6: Consider ways of increasing downshifting in the Civil Service.
	The Home Office offers support to any member of staff who chooses to revert to a more junior grade for personal reasons, irrespective of age. Each application is given sympathetic consideration.
	Conclusion 7: Consider creating a work pool of retired civil servants.
	The Home Office uses retired civil servants for recruitment and selection boards on an ad hoc basis. We also invite retired members of staff with appropriate experience to carry out reports, enquiries and investigations from time to time.
	Conclusion 8: Each Government Department should look at the case for allowing its civil servants to retire at 65.
	The Home Office has recently completed a comprehensive review of age retirement, resulting in a change in age retirement policy throughout the Home Office, including agencies (except for the Prison Service, which will announce details of its own age retirement review in due course). The new policy, which will come into force on 1 April 2002, will allow staff the option of retiring at any point between the ages of 60 and 65.
	Conclusion 9: Civil service departments should consider whether a short-service concession for those with less than 20 years' service should form part of its policy on normal retirement age as an interim measure.
	Not applicable, as conclusion 8 recommendations have already been implemented.
	Conclusion 10: Departments should take steps to integrate age into their equal opportunities policies.
	We are currently drafting a new equal opportunities policy statement. We will consider carefully how to include age in this statement.
	Conclusion 11: The Cabinet Office should develop a process for monitoring age-related employment practice.
	I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Minister of State, Cabinet Office, on 19 December 2001, Official Report, column 335W.

Parliamentary Questions

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she expects to reply to the Question of 5 December, ref. 21346, from the hon. Member for Buckingham, on sickness absence.

David Blunkett: The question to which the hon. Member is referring was answered on 17 December 2001, Official Report, column 91W.

Driving Disqualifications (EU)

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the prospects for adopting mutual recognition of court-ordered disqualifications from driving across the EU.

Bob Ainsworth: The Government have consulted widely on options for ratification of the European Union (EU) Driving Disqualification Convention, which was signed by all 15 member states during the United Kingdom's Presidency of the European Union in 1998. The convention requires EU member states to enforce disqualifications imposed on their residents by other member states.
	The Government are now considering the responses they have received to their consultation paper and will announce their decision as soon as possible. Ratification of the convention will require primary legislation. The convention will enter into force when it has been ratified by all 15 member states, but the Government intend to explore the possibility of early implementation on a bilateral basis with those countries that have ratified it.

Styal Womens' Prison

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the ratio of prison staff to inmates at Styal Womens' Prison in each of the last 10 years.

Beverley Hughes: The information requested is shown in the table. Information is not held on staff numbers prior to 1997. Staff in post and prisoner population are shown as at 31 March each year and at the latest available date.
	
		
			 Date Prisoners Staff in post Staff: inmate ratio 
		
		
			 31 March 1997 254 210 1:1.21 
			 31 March 1998 285 235 1:1.21 
			 31 March 1999 277 325 1:0.85 
			 31 March 2000 438 329 1:1.33 
			 31 March 2001 436 318 1:1.37 
			 31 December 2001 379 335 1:1.13

Lewes Prison

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the prison population at HMP Lewes in each month since January 2001; and what the (a) recommended and (b) absolute capacity of the prison is.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 9 January 2002
	The uncrowded capacity (Certified Normal Accommodation) of Lewes prison is 485 and the operational capacity is 496. The table provides the population figures during 2001.
	
		
			 Month(38) Population 
		
		
			 January 2001 411 
			 February 2001 414 
			 March 2001 445 
			 April 2001 446 
			 May 2001 435 
			 June 2001 443 
			 July 2001 471 
			 August 2001 478 
			 September 2001 471 
			 October 2001 468 
			 November 2001 467 
			 December 2001 (39)458 
		
	
	(38) Figures relate to the last day of the month
	(39) Provisional data

Charter of Fundamental Rights

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the compatibility of the provisions within the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 permitting the blanket retention of data with the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights.

David Blunkett: holding answer 9 January 2002
	The provisions of Part 11 of the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 comply with all European and International binding conventions. It is not our practice to assess compatibility with other, non-binding conventions.

Sussex Police

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what funding has been made available to Sussex police specifically to combat drugs;
	(2)  what additional funds he is making available to the Sussex constabulary to deal with crack cocaine;

Bob Ainsworth: Within the police force grant, there is not a ring-fenced allocation for tackling the misuse of drugs. Neither is there additional money allocated for dealing with crack cocaine specifically.
	In the year 200102, central funding was made available to the Sussex constabulary for specific drug-related programmes. This comprised 258,400 from the Crime Reduction Programme to deliver and maintain drug Arrest Referral schemes, and slightly in excess of 1 million from the Communities Against Drugs (CAD) programme, which can be used for more CCTV, funding for crime stopper schemes and working with pharmacists, to tackle drug-related crime at a community level.

Sussex Police

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his assessment is of the increase in the use of crack cocaine in the Sussex constabulary area in the last five years.

Bob Ainsworth: The information is not available in the form requested. The British Crime Survey (BCS) asks a representative sample of 16 to 59-year-olds (sample size of 13,300 individuals in 2000) about their drug use in the last year. The percentage who report using crack was 0.3 per cent. in 2000. Because of the small sample size and the low prevalence of reported crack use it would be unreliable to try to provide estimates for the numbers of crack users for small geographical areas, eg police force areas. Our best estimate of the number of 16 to 24-year-olds who used crack in the last year nationally is 50,000.
	Again nationally, the BCS suggests that there has been a significant increase in crack use between 1996 and 2000. In 1996 0.1 per cent. of 16 to 59-year-olds reported using crack in the last year, but by 2000 this had increased to 0.3 per cent. The same figures for 16 to 29-year-olds show an increase from 0.2 per cent. to 0.8 per cent. of the age group.

Sussex Police

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of arrests have been made by Sussex police in the last year for drug offences.

Bob Ainsworth: The Home Office Statistical Bulletin 19/01 Arrests for Notifiable Offences and the Operation of Certain Police Powers under PACE, England and Wales 2000/01 shows that 6 per cent. of the total persons arrested for notifiable offences by the Sussex constabulary were for drug offences.

Milk Tokens

Huw Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if he will consider awarding milk tokens to asylum seeker mothers who are HIV positive;
	(2)  if he will entitle all asylum seekers with children aged under five years to receive milk tokens.

John Hutton: I have been asked to reply.
	Families with children aged under five who receive certain social security benefits (income support or an income-based jobseeker's allowance) are entitled to receive milk tokens. Families of asylum seekers who do not receive social security benefits are supported by the national asylum support service. There are no plans to change these arrangements.